#have you seen what lurks in castle b? :)

[beevean]

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Chapel of Dissonance

[see-arcane]

something tells me you have two immediate wants: write gothic romance, write a proper subversion of the reincarnation plot device. decide what you want first. if it's the romance pour it out on barking harker even if you're on completely different plothreads right now, but draft it. go ham. make jane austen blush make st.t gibson wish she were you. if it's the reincarnation aspect you desire most then work of the new project first.

The trouble is that so many of my Dracula-based ideas have very similar ingredients, but depending on the recipe (plot/emphasis), I get such extremely different results. But I still need those ingredients to make those stories work and trying to juggle them all risks me pulling a Stephen King and having too many lookalike tropes happening. Barking Harker has the benefit of being a story that's completely out of left field compared to any spinoff I've seen, with very few repeatable tropes in play for other stories I have in mind. It's safe! No copycat risk! (And, spoilers, while romance is 100% the impetus for Jonathan and Mina's predicaments, it's not the sole spotlight. It's very much Horror drama > Loving drama there.)

But for the gothic romance with Vampiric Jonathan and Reincarnated Mina, the prospect of the whole cast getting reincarnated out of guilt, and the meta commentary Dracula VS Dracula battle in modern day all require 'Jonathan Harker being the New Dracula' as their main foundation. Without that premise, no version of the story can happen.

No Mina 2.0 finding herself trapped and discovering impossible truths about her smitten host.

No reborn heroes wondering at why they all seem so familiar to each other, and why they're so uneasy about the white-haired stranger lurking in the shadows and paying them far too much attention. A stranger who is not a stranger, but a mastermind who has bided his time for a century to bring them back, to give them new lives in apology, to collect Mina for himself for eternity. And if they get in his way? Well. What's another hundred years if he's forced to make another red mess?

No epic ultimate confrontation between Classic Dracula, the Pop Cultural Protagonist Role Usurper, versus Jonathan the Dracula, proving he is the better character as a hero, as a lover, and as a monster, finally kicking the Count down a peg and permanently into Hell. All this, plus the added pleasure of justice for Lucy, Renfield, and Quincey and the rest of the cast, with Jonathan refusing to let Dracula sink his teeth into their lives again--resulting in his own comprehension and disgust with himself, alongside his redemption.

They all need Jonathan the Dracula, but they all need a slightly (if vitally!) different iteration of him. Which means I can't play all of them out. Not without repeating myself, but an inch to the left. And I will not Stephen King myself. Which brings me back to the three-way tie issue. 🙃

I think the safest bet is to start with the compact Jonathan and Mina in the Castle premise. It's shorter in theory, taking less time and energy to burn on it if it doesn't come out right. But B and C will still be gnawing at me all the while. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[o-wyrmlight]

So I have seen bits and pieces of your bittersweet friends au and i’m pretty sure I have seen on your post about it but I’m still don’t quite understand the concept? Is it just your take of DC before he officially came out or is it something else? I’m very much enjoying the new dynamic you made between affogato and dark Cocao and i’m looking forward to seeing more! 

Thank you very much! I'm still trying to work out the kinks of it.

Essentially, it's an AU where Affogato from a canon-compliant timeline somehow gets yeeted into an alternate dimension. You know. Because that's apparently a canon thing that can happen in Cookie Run.

And in this alternate dimension, things are different. Essentially, it's a dimension of an AU that I've created from my own head--in which the founders of the kingdoms are not necessarily all the founders. In which the incident with Dark Choco and Dark Cacao happened before the events that made the Ancients disappear. In which, instead of secluding himself in paranoia within his castle, Dark Cacao instead... Does the same thing. He stays in his castle. For a while.

Except he goes about it differently.

He's quieter than canon Cacao. More thoughtful. More willing to feel out the inner workings of his own emotional state. And it's his responsibility to take care of his people to the best of his ability, even if he hasn't fully recovered from that incident.

He didn't found his kingdom, and neither did his father, who he used to have a complicated, abusive relationship with. He didn't break apart the North and South dragons--that was his grandfather. He's just a king who is trying his best, even if the cursed sword isn't allowing his body to heal.

And he needs medicine. And Affogato is willing to give it. (Willing to secretly poison him, under the guise of being an advisor.) Except Dark Cacao is quieter, and he is more thoughtful and patient, and he is not the cookie that Affogato thought he was. And part of the reason Affogato felt he needed to kill Dark Cacao was a) because he's been letting his kingdom turn to ruin and b) because Affogato desperately, desperately longs for a place where he feels accepted and like he belongs. He is coffee and ice cream. He doesn't belong to one world or the other. He's bittersweet.

Then he eventually finds out that Dark Cacao is bittersweet, too. His father was half-coffee cookie and his mother was from the Vanilla Kingdom. Dark Cacao considers Affogato no less than any cookie, as worthy as belonging as any other. And that throws him off.

Especially because Dark Cacao has been trapped in a cycle of mourning and grief, ever since he was a child and his mother died. Ever since his father died.

Ever since he banished his son, which he--quietly, openly to those he trusts--has such remorse for. Dark Cacao is haunted by many ghosts of remorse and regret and guilt.

He is different from the Dark Cacao that Affogato knows, and that throws him off.

And the creatures lurking within the Licorice Sea are not merely a waiting inevitability that may or may not exist. Because one day, at the castle, Affogato sees that threat with his very own eyes. And he sees the end result of crumbled cookies and jam and buildings destroyed, and a wall that has been rebuilt over and over and over just for a few extra minutes to react each time it happens. And he sees the aftermath of Dark Cacao fighting. Even though he--quite literally--can't. Even though the scar across his chest hasn't healed and shows no signs of healing--even as it festers and limits him with chronic pain that comes and goes in ebbs and waves. He still picks up his sword to fight. Because he is determined to protect his kingdom.

And this is not the person Affogato remembers. And he is--frankly--at a loss of what to do.

But Dark Cacao knows what to do.

[samstree]

splash of the waves, and the sand castle crumbles (2)

(geraskier, prince!jaskier, fairytale elements, angst with a happy ending, insecurities, jaskier whump, chest pain, 4.8k)

Geralt discovers that being with a prince comes at a price. Jaskier deals with some bad news.

previous: [1], read on AO3

A big thanks to my amazing beta @wanderlust-t!! 💖💖

Geralt will always come second in Jaskier’s heart.

As he sinks into the soft mattress and gathers the prince into his arms, the realization becomes ever so clear.

His fingers find those faint freckles on Jaskier’s back, the ones he can already trace by heart without looking. The press of Jaskier’s body nuzzles into his. The clamminess from their earlier passion makes the closeness a little uncomfortable, but Geralt can’t seem to find the strength to pull away.

Instead, he moves closer to Jaskier to observe him carefully.

The prince has this look on his face that Geralt never liked, one that suggests he’s lost somewhere far away, so Geralt brushes a strand of stray hair away to guide those blue eyes back to the presence.

“What are you worrying about?”

“Huh?” The corners of Jaskier’s eyes crinkle when he snaps out of the trance. “Nothing, um—court happenings. Valdo has received news on the investigation in Cintra.”

“About the assassination?”

“Dead end, again.” Jaskier chews his lips. “No concrete proof that it was ordered by Calanthe, nothing except for some whispers you stumbled upon in a tavern. Valdo is looking elsewhere now.”

Geralt tilts his head in sympathy, hating the idea of the prince living with one more potential threat lurking in the dark. “How can I help?” he asks.

“You stopped them. I reckon that’s plenty.” Jaskier leans in, a teasing gleam in his eyes. “I won’t bore you with grim details, my dear. But perhaps…distract me? If you truly want to help.”

So Geralt presses his lips everywhere he can reach. One on the crown of Jaskier’s head, another at his hairline, and then on those already kiss-swollen lips, so enticing in the candlelight.

The prince responds eagerly, his deft fingers roaming across Geralt’s chest and provoking him with the softest touch, soothing and aggravating the ache deep within him. A surprised giggle escapes Jaskier’s lips as he catches Geralt’s hand trailing down under the cover.

“Really? Again?” the prince threads their fingers together and pulls Geralt’s hand away, subtly interrupting his not-so-subtle attempt. “The way you screamed my name earlier, my dear, I thought you would pass out from the sheer intensity of it. Witcher stamina or not, you can’t possibly still want more.”

“I don’t… scream.”

The defense is so weak that Jaskier’s grin breaks out in amusement. He continues to kiss Geralt’s knuckles with the utmost care, but the ache in his stomach still simmers.

Geralt groans with frustration.

“What is it?” Jaskier, ever so perceptive, notices his turmoil. The bliss on his face soon turns into concern and Geralt regrets ever letting on his emotions. “Talk to me, darling. It’s okay.”

“I—” Geralt realizes how silly it would sound, but Jaskier is waiting for an answer. “Tonight is the first time I’ve seen you since Ellander. Since the striga.”

“Since you accepted my hand in marriage.” Jaskier places an open-mouthed kiss on the scar on Geralt’s neck. “Darling, I wish I could have stayed with you at the temple. You know I do, but there was—”

“The coup at the border. I understand.” Geralt chastises himself for even bringing it up. He remembers how tired Jaskier looked after riding day and night to reach Temeria, how attentive he was when it came to nursing his injuries. “Uh—forget I said anything. You had to go, Jask. It’s fine.”

He also remembers when the urgent message came four days after they were betrothed and the sinking feeling in his stomach to watch Jaskier leave—albeit reluctantly. At the time, the prince kissed him so fiercely, his touch lingering on the signet ring he left on Geralt’s finger. Jaskier repeated his promise so many times, to return to him as soon as possible.

Geralt remembers the disappointment when he didn’t.

“It’s not fine.” Jaskier looks almost sad. “It’s never fine to leave you when you are hurt. It’s never fine to break my promise to you. Geralt, don’t you know you are my whole world? It’s my job to take care of you. Of course, you have every right to be angry with me.”

Except you also have to take care of the whole world.

Literally.

The world will always take precedence over a mere witcher.

“I missed you, that’s all.” Strangely, the admission lifts a weight off his chest. “I’m not angry with you for wanting to keep your people safe.”

“You aren’t?”

“I just—” Geralt’s stomach churns at the uncertain look on Jaskier’s face. “I just want to be with you, all of you. For more than four days at a time.”

“You have me.” Jaskier scrambles onto his elbow, not quite letting go of Geralt’s hand. “I’m here, all of me.”

“For tonight.”

“And tomorrow, and every day after.” He presses another kiss to the ring. “You’ll see, starting tomorrow morning. No more coups. I’ll stay with you when the tailors come over. Knowing how much you hate choosing designs and having people fuss all over you, it’d be cruel if I didn’t. It’s important that my husband looks dashing on his wedding day.”

“Hmm.”

The word husband is all it takes. Geralt finds himself drawn to Jaskier’s blinding smile, like a moth to a flame.

It should scare him, the thought of binding himself to someone. A witcher is not meant to stay at one place, with one person. And yet, Jaskier promised him the freedom to return to the path anytime as well as a seat at the Aedirnian court as the prince’s husband.

Because that’s the kind of person Jaskier is. When he’s in, he’s all in. In both his political life and with Geralt, Jaskier is ever so consistent. When he’s with Geralt, it’s like he’s only existing for the man in front of him, only in the here and now, as if his sun rises and falls with the tiniest sign of happiness on Geralt’s face. And yet, when he’s away…

It’s the world and the people the crown prince has sworn to protect.

It’ll always be the world before him.

Always second.

Geralt rubs the pad of his thumb on the signet ring, the proof of Jaskier’s devotion. The weight on his ring finger has become so comforting in Jaskier’s absence.

Maybe it’s enough. He has witnessed how Jaskier gives an ocean of love eagerly and unreservedly, to his work and his music. If Jaskier’s heart is willing to spare him anything like he’s someone worth loving, worth keeping, it’s enough.

Geralt drifts off with the prince soft and pliant, draped all over him.

And he wakes up to a cold bed, the familiar scent of citrus soap still faint on the sheets. Resting on the pillow, where tousled brown hair should be is a note scribbled in haste.

My darling witcher,

I must ride out before dawn as a riot has broken out near the settlement. It seems that men’s prejudice has not only made them seethe with hatred, but ruined our time together as well.

Forgive me for my absence, and for not having the courage to wake you before I leave.

Remember that I love you. I love you.

I love you,

J.

Geralt’s grip tightens around the paper before letting go of it with resignation.

Perhaps he has made peace with being second in Jaskier’s heart. He just wishes the proof is not so solid in ink.

*

Geralt stops in his tracks when he sees Valdo Marx standing outside the kitchen, his blonde curls shining even in the low candlelight. There’s a tankard of wine casually held in his palm.

“Well, isn’t this the White Wolf himself?” The lord flicks a strand of hair out of his face, checking the witcher up and down. “What brings you here so late at night?”

“Could ask you the same,” Geralt doesn’t want to converse with the man for too long. Every time he speaks with Marx, the lord always hides an edge in his words that makes the witcher uneasy. “And Geralt is fine, as I said last time.”

“Of course, how can I forget the name of the man who captured our Prince Julian’s heart. For so many years, he thought of marriage as a mere joke. A songbird is not to be caged, he said, or he will be forever songless. Julian was ever so dramatic on this matter. But that’s before you swooped in and suddenly he’s reduced to a lovestruck fool. It’s always Geralt this, Geralt that, even before the ball.” Valdo leans against the doorframe, squinting and scrutinizing.

“You are in a chatty mood, my lord,” the witcher dismisses the salty comment and walks toward the door. “Excuse me for not having the time. I’m only here to fetch Jaskier some food.”

“No need.” Valdo puts a hand on Geralt’s elbow to stop him from entering the kitchen. The smell of alcohol is strong around him. “I’ve ordered the maid to prepare something to be brought up. I know Julian must have slept through dinner. How is he now?”

Geralt hums. The too-familiar tone with which Valdo speaks of Jaskier has always put him off, as well as the hand that’s currently resting on his arm. Even though the urge to shake the man off is palpable, Geralt is determined to remain civil to the most important member of Jaskier’s council.

“His heart acted up earlier. It’s fine now. But he’s still resting.”

“From the fatigue, I imagine.” Valdo releases Geralt’s arm, his face falling. “The riot was a real pain in the neck. The people living near Dol Blathanna have been displeased since the settlement started, but one that lasts a fortnight is a first. Julian barely slept a wink. He was dead on his feet by the end of it.”

And now he’s just woken up, waiting for Geralt to return.

“I should go if you have everything sorted—”

“Do you know how dangerous it got at one point? How out of control the situation was?” Valdo’s piercing eyes meet Geralt’s, his tone demanding. “How come you, the deadliest witcher and Julian’s betrothed, were not at his side protecting him?”

“Jaskier never wanted me involved. I assume the Butcher won’t be good for his looks.”

“You would be more stupid than I thought I you believed that bullshit,” Valdo curses loudly. “He wanted to propose after meeting you twice, even though his whole council was against the idea. And you think he’s ashamed of you? No, he’s leaving you out of everything to protect you.”

Geralt frowns, but the lord continues.

“He cares so much about your stand, your neutrality or whatever moral code your kind holds on for dear life. He believes accepting his hand has already compromised your beliefs—as if marrying a prince is such a chore—so he won’t ask your loyalty to Aedirn. He won’t ask you to fight for him.”

The bitterness in Valdo’s voice is nothing compared to the bile that rises up in Geralt’s throat.

“If I was with him…”

“He’d be safer. The guards can’t always stand between him and danger, as your first meeting has already proved.”

The lord’s jaw tightens before downing the content of his cup. The silence hangs in the quiet night.

As much as Geralt dislikes Valdo’s snarky remarks and jabs, he cannot bring himself to hate the man. His devotion to Jaskier is unmatched even amongst his closest advisors, let alone the fact that they were childhood friends.

Even when no one supported Jaskier, Valdo was there. And for that, Geralt will forever be grateful. Even though a witcher never answers to nobles, perhaps an explanation is owed to Valdo Marx.

“I am loyal to Jaskier if that’s your concern.” Geralt says in earnest. “He has my sword, even though I’m no knight.”

Valdo crosses his arms, the tankard still in his hand and tipping sideways. A drop of red liquid hits the floor.

“Good. If you have to marry our prince, you might as well take your duty of serving him more seriously. Although only the gods know why he chose you over so many more deserving.”

Geralt raises an eyebrow at the bitterness in that statement.

“Like a court advisor? A politician of the highest rank?” he stares down at the other man. “A long-time friend, maybe?”

No surprise flashes across the other man’s eyes, but being a lord his whole life means anything can be hidden under the calm surface.

He does let out a tight laugh, the wine loosening his tongue. “The whole continent will know before Julian.” He shakes his head, mumbling something incoherent. “Did you know he started to sing because of me? I took lute lessons one summer in Cidaris. I was eight and Julian was two years younger, and what do you know! He was better than me within six months. Ha! With talent like that, it’s a shame princes aren’t allowed to be bards.”

Geralt feels equally proud and jealous to hear the childhood tale. Jaskier has not talked about his relationship with Valdo much, apart from the fact that both of them were extremely competitive growing up. Although it is not difficult to imagine if a six-year-old Jaskier was as infuriatingly persistent as he is now.

“Are you to flaunt how well you know him again?” Geralt almost scowls. “How you know him better than anyone because you’ve known him for two decades longer?”

“I should remind you, witcher, that I’m also friends with people more powerful beyond your imagination. Mages who can dispose of a witcher with the snap of a finger.” Valdo straightens his back as if it’ll make him more imposing. “Julian may never listen to me on the matter of his marriage, but if you ever harm a hair—”

“What’s left of me will only be found in the deepest dungeon of Aedirn, I know.” Geralt holds his gaze steadily. These threats would be laughable if not so tiring. “No need to repeat yourself so many times, my lord.”

The promise hangs in the air. Just when Valdo Marx opens his mouth again, they are interrupted by soft footsteps padding from the other end of the hallway.

“Geralt? What’s taking so—Oh, Valdo.” Jaskier blinks while turning the corner, his sleep-rumpled hair sticking to all directions. His nightshirt is all wrinkled and unbuttoned halfway down, revealing thick chest hair. A soft woolen robe is draped around the prince’s shoulders. “Why are you still here? It’s so late, just go home already.”

And Valdo Marx, wordsmith and seasoned politician, is spluttering.

“I—Julian.” The other lord bows, way too formally, and clears his throat. His eyes are darting all over the place, avoiding the unkept picture of the prince. His already flushed face is turning a bright red. “I wanted to make sure you were alright. That is…um, why I stayed.”

“I’m fine, just tired.” Jaskier rubs at his heart in the guise of adjusting the shirt. “Now will you go? You did so well, as always. You deserve some rest.” Despite the weariness in Jaskier’s eyes, a hearty smile lights up his face, and Geralt hears Valdo’s breaths catch.

“If you say so, Julian.” The lord nods before taking his leave, throwing another stern look over his shoulder at the witcher, only to avert them when Jaskier drops all pretense and burrows into Geralt’s embrace with his back to the exit. The clicking of Valdo’s heels fastens almost desperately.

Geralt would have sympathized with the man if he didn’t have something much more important to take care of.

“Are you really fine?” Geralt asks quietly, frowning when Jaskier’s freezing hands press against the nape of his neck, and the prince shakes his head faintly.

“Not when you’re held up for so long, darling. I’m still waiting for my late-night snack,” Jaskier mumbles into the crook of Geralt’s neck.

“It’ll be brought up in a minute.”

“You are the sweetest.”

“Valdo, actually. He thought of it.”

“Oh.” Jaskier pulls away, surprised. “Have I told you that I learned the lute just to spite him, back when we were kids?”

“You can tell me now.”

The prince wraps the robe tighter around his torso and steers Geralt towards their bedroom. “It’s a great tale that ends with my sweeping triumph, my dear. If you will just follow me.”

Gladly.

Valdo’s words keep turning in Geralt’s head for the rest of the evening as he helps Jaskier with a simple meal before letting him retire again. Asleep for the second time, the prince looks uncharacteristically small, his frame swathed by the thick velvety blankets, carefully tucked around him to fend off the chills. A shadow falls under his long lashes, making Jaskier’s features appear a lot younger than he is, a fragile buttercup, even an innocent one.

But Geralt’s prince is anything but innocent. Not when he’s seen no less evil than anyone on this continent, not when he’s hurt deeply for acting against it.

Geralt wraps his body around the prince, and knows for a fact that he is willing to follow Jaskier anywhere on this journey.

*

Geralt fusses with the cuffs of his ceremonial doublet one last time when the servant rushes in.

“It’s the king,” the boy says with rounded eyes. “He just collapsed, sir. The prince is with him.”

When he gets to the other side of the castle, there must be more than a dozen people in the corridor, close friends of the royal family waiting outside of the wooden double doors. Among them is Valdo, pacing anxiously at the edge of the crowd.

There are only two heartbeats in the king’s chamber, one steady, the other one weak and erratic, like a candle in the wind.

Geralt doesn’t need to smell the decay in the air or the stale melancholy trapped in the building to know that the king is dying.

Through the closed doors, Jaskier’s soft whimpers follow the king’s hoarse murmurs. Geralt forces his heightened senses away from what must be a private moment, the last heart-to-heart Jaskier will ever have with his father. He shouldn’t intrude.

The collar is too tight. Geralt rests his hand against the door by instinct, wanting more than anything to be with Jaskier, to hold and comfort him. Waiting out here might just be the cruelest torture when Jaskier is hurting in there.

“Geralt,” Valdo interrupts the witcher’s wandering mind, “I’m sorry that it’s happening today.”

Geralt blinks at the genuine sympathy on the other man’s face. “It’s hardly about me, Valdo.”

They turn their heads towards the king’s bedchamber in unison. The young prince sitting at his father’s deathbed is the single focus of both men, of everyone standing in this corridor, and soon enough, of this entire country and all of the northern kingdoms.

“Still, I was warming up to you, witcher. It’s a shame your big day has to end like this.”

Geralt hums, and, “Thank you, my lord.”

In the dim light, Geralt’s attire appears to be a homogenous dark fabric, the embroidery easily overlooked—buttercups, threaded with the same black as the silk. Subtle, but they are there. There are hidden buttercups all over him, weaving through his color and laying claim.

Jaskier would appreciate the design. Geralt brushes his thumb over one flower sadly.

“Did he tell you already?” Valdo asks.

“About what?”

“The investigation.”

A frown creases between Geralt’s brows. “I thought you couldn’t trace it back to Calanthe? That there was no proof.”

“Because it wasn’t her. Think about it. Since when has Calanthe resorted to a shady kill like this in the past? The Lioness was angry at our prince and she was vocal about it, but you’d think she’d just charge across the Yaruga with a sword in her hand,” the blonde man snorts. “We were looking the wrong way.”

“Jaskier never told me.” Geralt stands there, dumbfounded.

“He was protecting you. Again.”

Annoyance licks up in Geralt’s chest, burning for answers. “What is the truth, then? You have no inclination of doing the same, Valdo. Just tell me.”

The lord drags the witcher away from the murmuring crowd and lowers his voice in secrecy. “We were overthinking it by assuming it was an elaborate plan, but it hit me one day. How can we be so blind when it’s right in front—”

“Out with it.” Geralt grits his teeth and finally the noble sighs and ceases stalling.

“A friendly fire.”

“The poisonous arrow was friendly.” Geralt deadpans.

“When it was sent by someone who only wished to deter Julian from furthering his plans and angering every other king in the north by siding with the elves. Someone who arranged an attempt on his life only to scare him off, but didn’t anticipate the one million things that could go wrong on the day.” Valdo sends a heavy look to the closed double door. “Someone dear to Julian. Someone who has regretted the decision since.”

Geralt feels like all air has been punched out of his lungs. His knuckles crack and his nails are close to drawing blood from the palm. It’s because of Valdo’s hand halting him in place that Geralt is not charging into the room.

“His own father…” Geralt murmurs, suddenly all strength saps from his body and he just wants to get Jaskier out of this damned place, away from the man who’s supposed to support him but instead almost took his life. “I need to go in.”

“Don’t. These people will know something’s wrong. This cannot get out,” Valdo hisses. Down the hall, a few lords and ladies are already throwing them some curious looks.

“Jaskier knows this,” Geralt says, shaking off the buzzing in his ears.

“And he’s made his peace with it, and now they are spending their last moments together. Your anger, or mine, is—”

The double doors open with a creak, and there Jaskier is, eyes red-rimmed but his back straight.

“—pointless.”

Valdo completes the sentence but Geralt pays no mind. When he reaches Jaskier’s side with a few quick strides, there’s no other heartbeat inside the room, only silence. His world narrows down to the thrumming in Jaskier’s chest.

The palpitation is unmistakable. Fluttering dangerously.

So is the stench of overpowering pain, mixed with the distinct citrus floral scent that is Jaskier and the never-ending decay of a sick old man. Geralt almost gags.

“The king is dead,” the prince announces the tragedy. A few nobles reply with kind words. It all fades into background noises.

Geralt’s gaze fixes on the man he’s supposed to marry this very day, and watches as Jaskier bites into his lips when another quiver happens upon the spasming muscles of his heart like the wings of a hummingbird. A lady reaches out to offer condolences, so Jaskier takes her hands and thanks her. His features reveal nothing.

The paleness could be taken as a result of grief, the tremor as well. The guests remain blissfully oblivious to the agony their prince is in, and one by one they come to him and linger.

But Jaskier’s agony cannot escape Geralt’s eyes, not when he’s the one most intimate to those heartaches that have been with Jaskier since the day they met. A sheen of sweat gathers at Jaskier’s forehead, his lips pursed into a tight line, but the prince won’t show any weakness to these people. Instead, he stands tall and proud, stubborn like the first dandelion in the spring, blossoming where the wind is cruel and the soil still frozen.

“Julian,” Valdo calls out the name like a prayer.

“I need you, Valdo.” Jaskier’s voice cracks, the first outward indication of discomfort. “We’ve found ourselves in the most precarious situation, and I—”

Jaskier breaks off for air, squeezes his eyes shut to ride out a chill down his spine. Geralt catches the prince by the elbow and instantly Jaskier leans into the support.

“I will make the arrangement for you, my prince,” Valdo replies when the prince schools his expression back to normal and gives out a trusting smile.

“I depend on you, all of you,” Jaskier addresses the crowd, “for the future of this land we share. But now it’s time for me to grieve, my good people. Allow me some privacy and time with my husband.”

The slip goes unnoticed when the lords and ladies are led out and the only people left are Geralt, Valdo and Jaskier himself. The prince lets out a labored gasp, staggers, and sags against Geralt’s chest like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Shit. Jask—” Geralt scrambles to keep him up but Jaskier drops like a leaf in the wind and they both end up on the floor in a heap of limbs. He looks to Valdo in desperation.

“I’ll get the healer. Julian, please hang on.” The other man’s hand lingers by Jaskier’s wrist before he hurries away, but the prince seems unaware.

And it’s just them, alone on their wedding day.

Jaskier’s ragged breathing echoes in the empty hallway and Geralt has never felt more helpless in his long life. The prince’s face crumbles in agony and his body won’t stop shaking.

“Hey, just look at me.” Geralt places Jaskier’s cheek against his shoulder so their gazes meet, the cornflower blue not responding. “Why do you need to be so stubborn? Damn you, Jaskier…”

“You are wea—wearing buttercups, Geralt. Look—” A boneless hand comes up to caress the dark embroidery on Geralt’s collar, Jaskier’s eyes sparkle with fascination before a tremor racks his body again and contorts him into a writhing mess.

“Shh. Don’t talk, Jask. Save your strength.”

Geralt’s words are drowned in fear, and he can only wrap a steady hand around Jaskier’s cold, clammy one and hold it over the prince’s frantic heart in the hope of easing the tightly wound muscles underneath.

“But…but I’m all over you. Like you are all over me. See?” Jaskier squeezes Geralt’s fingers and that’s when he notices the wolf pattern sewn into Jaskier’s sleeve for the first time, silver thread against white. A perfect symmetry between them.

Despite himself, the corners of Geralt’s lips tug into a sad smile, and it is soon returned by Jaskier. His eyes well up in the process. From the physical strain or grief, Geralt isn’t sure.

“I don’t need it to know that I’m yours, my prince. Now and always.”

Where Jaskier bit into his lips earlier seeps with crimson, a stark contrast against his bloodless complexion, the look in his eyes dreamy and far-away.

“My knight in shining armor. My savior.” Jaskier says in earnest before something dawns in his eyes and devastation sets in. A whimper chokes in his throat. “You, Geralt…Will you betray me too? Even…my own father. The person closest to me. But how can he? How—”

The prince squirms against Geralt’s chest and struggles to take in air, his cheeks soaked wet with sweat and tears. Something twists in Geralt’s stomach powerlessly as he hears the wheezing sounds in Jaskier’s lungs.

“I won’t, Jaskier. Please,” Geralt pleads into Jaskier’s hair but it falls on deaf ears. Strings of words tumble out of his mouth, delirious and nonsensical.

“We didn’t even have the time…couldn’t even make it right. There was no time…”

Geralt shushes him and tries to calm Jaskier’s breathing by stroking his back but it only makes it worse. The deterioration is happening too fast, juxtaposed with grief and shock that Jaskier’s already weakened heart cannot handle. Geralt fears the worst.

“My father, I—they all hurt me and leave me…Like my… Don’t leave me, G’ralt—" Jaskier clings and pleads, but cannot escape the cage made out of his sorrow.

“I won’t. Not when you’ve promised the same, Jask. Stay with me. Just stay with me, please.”

He’s trying.

Jaskier is trying and failing. And it’s the last straw.

“It hurts too much.”

With that, blue eyes roll into the back of his head and Jaskier collapses in Geralt’s embrace, the column of his neck exposed with the strain and the pulse underneath faint like a whisper. His listless hand slips from Geralt’s grip and hits the floor.

Carefully as if any more force would break Jaskier’s skin, Geralt presses his lips to Jaskier’s still ones and tastes of copper and salt. He draws out the kiss like in those fairytales, like a proper true love’s kiss. When he finally pulls away, a swarm of healers and nurses are surrounding them and Geralt is pulled away by hands he doesn’t recognize.

But Jaskier doesn’t wake from the kiss.

Not like in the stories.

---

I know Jaskier isn’t having the best day but I promise this story has a happy ending. <3

Also I’m not sure who wants to be tagged for this one, but feel free to tell me ;)

[richterology]

⟡ 𝑪𝑹𝒀 𝑾𝑶𝑳𝑭! — part two

cry wolf! masterlist

pairing: luke pearce x reader

warning(s): reader is referred to as a queen but isn’t explicitly stated to be female.

wc: 714

summary: danger lurks in every corner for the defenseless human. but he just might enjoy waltzing into the jaws of a monster if it means you’ll come to his rescue every time.

a/n: the feminine urge to drop this series is real :/

The castle grounds were beautiful. Well-maintained with lush greenery and blood-red flowers that seemed to remind Luke of a certain werewolf queen.

His two guards followed closely behind him despite the tiredness radiating from their bodies as they yawned every so often.

“Is it boring?” Luke asks, turning away from the scenery to face his guards.

His guards exchange a shared look before nodding, eliciting a laugh from deep within his chest.

“Ever since you appeared, the queen has been busy with their duties, and the castle has become way too quiet.” The guard on his right explained. “Due to the queen’s orders for you to be left alone, no one has been bold enough to approach you much less your surrounding areas.”

He was right. On his very first day in the kingdom, Luke had seen many werewolves roaming about, and as the days went by he only ever caught sight of the castle staff and his own guards.

Coral eyes lowered dejectedly, Luke hums softly as he resumes his walk, following a random path until it led him to the entrance of a forest.

“You shouldn’t go in there.” Guard A says. Neither had bothered to give Luke his name and since they looked similar, Luke resorted to naming them ‘Guard A’ and ‘Guard B’. But only in his head of course.

“Why?” He questions simply. He squints at the unnatural darkness emitted from the forest wondering if he could return home if he went through it. Though he knew it was quite nearly impossible for himself to navigate through the unrelenting wilderness without the help of the supernatural.

“The forest has been enchanted with magic to attack outsiders, there’s no telling what will happen if you enter it even with us by your side.” Guard B explains, stepping out of his place on Luke’s side to drag him back five steps.

“Was the forest I appeared in enchanted as well?” Luke asked, coral eyes shimmering with curiosity.

Before either guard could respond, a snide voice cuts in.

“The surrounding forests are all enchanted. You should’ve died.”

It was obvious that this person was one of those werewolves that disapproved of the queen’s orders.

“Well, it’s too bad I’m alive and well,” Luke replies smoothly, a carefree grin on his face. His gaze, however, was hard and cold with only a hint of mischief reflected in his irises.

His provocation seemed to have worked as the werewolf begins to shift into wolf form, snarling loudly. Guards A and B immediately take up defensive stances in front of him, shielding him from the short-tempered werewolf.

With years of experience in combat under his belt, Luke could tell that there was no imminent threat to his life and the backs of both his guards were beginning to look more and more reliable.

***

“You dare disobey my command?”

You stifle your grin as Luke startles backward, bumping into you. His eyes widen upon seeing you and you note the slight pink that tinges his cheeks.

“Y-your Highness!”

You ignore the other wolves that have sunk to their knees in greeting, choosing to give Luke a careful inspection as you searched him for any injuries.

Cupping his face gently, you let out a soft laugh as Luke reddens significantly.

“I’m just checking you for injuries,” You murmur, “It looks like your unharmed… Physically anyway.” Your voice turns cold as you fix a stony glare in the direction of the wolf that had disobeyed you.

Flicking your wrist gently you signaled for Luke’s guards to take away the troublemaker.

“Imprison him.”

Once again, you ignore the anguished cries of the wolf being dragged away and turn your full attention over to Luke.

“If you ever encounter a situation like that again, call for me,” You instruct the man quietly. His life was of utmost importance to not only, you but also the fate of your kingdom.

“Okay,” Luke quickly agrees by nodding his head. His brown hair flops over his eyes adorably and you reach out to ruffle his hair, grinning at the feeling of his soft locks between your fingers.

Maybe it wasn’t too bad to ditch your work and find Luke sometimes.

In your reverie, you miss the secretive smile that spreads across Luke’s face.

© richterology 2021, do not plagiarize or repost

[jenonctcity]

Running From The Dark

Charia Kingdom – Renjun

Smut, Fluff, Angst.

Fantasy!Au, Supernatural!Au

Warnings: Mentions of blood/injury, minor character death, explicit sex, mention of abuse.

Word Count: 12.8k

 (All of this series links up. The timeline of the story runs in the order of the master list from top to bottom, Mark - Jisung. Each members part can be read as a stand-alone, but I would recommended reading all the parts in order so the story adds up.)

Charia Kingdom - A place that has equal amounts of sunshine and rain, hot and cold, rich and poor, and, humans and creatures that couldn’t be identified as that of human status. Ruled by the Lee family with a king whose cutthroat and unforgiving nature is feared by many. The poor not cared for by people who have everything, where disease takes the lives of those unfortunate enough to not have the funds to purchase medicine. A place where humans live among  creatures many would find terrifying. It’s no secret that Vampires, Werewolves, Wizards, etc live amongst them like normal people. Unless you murder someone, you’re considered normal. Everyone lives their own lives, whether it be a happy life, or a sorrowful life…

Being chased from the royal family’s castle at the age of 16 was never something Renjun hoped for when he was growing up. Having lived in the castle since his birth, his mother, the castles witch, raised him alone. After finding out a huge secret and confronting the king, the king has Renjun’s mother killed, leading Renjun to use the dark powers he never knew he had to curse the Prince of the kingdom. After a bounty is put on his head for his crimes, he lives his life on the run, burrowing away in a cabin far out in the depths of the dangerous forest. A place where many lethal creatures live. Now 19, Renjun has lived in solitude for 3 years, and never expected a girl to break into his home in the dead of night. The girl he encounters is on the run herself, but refuses to tell him why. The stubborn, mentally strong, and brave girl persuades him to let her stay with him. Can he live alongside another being when he’s still got dark magic flowing through his veins and a huge secret heavy in his heart?

The strong wind whipped against your face, alongside stray branches and leaves from trees you didn’t notice in your haste. The shadows from the trees created a darkness in the forest that made it hard to navigate your way through, despite the bright moonlight peering through gaps in the trees; you could hardly see. Your hearing was perfect though, and the demanding shouts of men’s voices was what kept you running even though the dangers you faced the deeper you got into the forest. Your lungs burned from the stress you put them through, running nonstop for an hour was no joke and you felt the ache in your legs. But you had no choice, you couldn’t be caught by the men trailing you or you’d be forced into a life you did not wish to pursue. A bead of sweat cascaded down the side of your cheek, falling from your jaw as you dodged a large branch that was at head height, you ducked underneath it, but immediately stumbled from a dip in the ground. You gasped in surprise, one of your knees coming in contact with the ground before you caught yourself. You winced at the loudness of your gasp, hoping the men not far behind you hadn’t heard you. You couldn’t run any longer, the pain becoming too much, but you refused to give up. You hid behind the largest tree you could find, holding your breath despite the urgency of your lungs screaming about how they needed oxygen. The voices got closer, your stomach twisting in anxiety at them finding you.

“(Y/N)! Come out come out wherever you are.” A deep voice sang with a sickly-sweet laugh following it. The light of a lit torch casting more shadows to fall from the trees as they neared you. “Mr Kim will be a very, very disappointed man if he doesn’t get to have his little bitch.” The voice continued to taunt you, your eyes filling with tears, all hope of freedom rinsing out of your body. “He’s not very forgiving you know…He’s going to do very bad thi-”

The echo of a high-pitched howl cut the man off. His voice halting to a stop the second he heard the threatening signal of a nearby creature. Hushed voices talked amongst themselves before the rustling of leaves told you the men had given up before you, retreating from the forest to escape the beast of the night. You heard more rustling, your heart pounding in your chest and your hands getting clammy, a fright you’d never felt before sending freezing chills down your spine despite the heat of the night. The sound got closer, but you had a feeling it wasn’t the men coming back. You looked to your left, being as quiet as you could as you peered around, hoping to look for a gap in the trees so you had an easy exit if you needed one. You couldn’t see anything under the guise of darkness, so you swung your head to the right. Bright green eyes beside your face had your heart almost stopping, your breath getting caught in your lungs as you stood shell shocked. The snow-white fur of the lean wolf almost glowed under the moonlight, it looking soft to the touch. The wolf stared at you, its head flicking up slightly as it sniffed at you. It took a step closer, its face getting closer to yours. You wanted to beg it not to kill you, but you knew nothing about werewolves. Could it understand your language? Did it have a human form? You had no idea. The wolf rubbed its face against yours the same way you saw a cat once rub its face against its owners’ leg. You took in a sharp breath, confused by the wolfs actions, as it turned away and ran into the dark of the night. Letting out the breath you were holding, you couldn’t help but think the wolf had purposely sought you out to help you.

“Thank you!” You whispered shouted into the darkness, hearing a bark respond in the distance. You took off running again, not knowing what you were looking for and heading towards. You slowed to a walk after half an hour, not even knowing if you were walking in circles as you passed a large boulder that looked strangely familiar. Or maybe you were just going insane, maybe you imagined the wolf and in actuality you were stuck in the prison you once called home. You tripped over a tree root, your body slamming into the leaf covered floor being enough to tell you this was reality, and you actually were experiencing one of the most frightening events of your life. You stood up with a groan, your knees and palms stinging from your fall and your throat feeling so dry it hurt to make any noise. You brushed yourself off, lifting your head to look in front of you as you saw a glimmer of hope. A small cabin in a barely-there clearance sat like a dream. It looked like it was as worn out as you felt. The brick being a dull colour from what you could see underneath the moonlight. Stray vines and ivy grew up the walls, leading you to believe the cabin had been there for quite some time. Looking at the chimney you noticed a lack of smoke, hoping that it was an unoccupied lot so that you had somewhere to spend the night.

You weighed up your options. On one hand, you could spend the night in a cabin, sure there was a risk that it actually had someone living in it, but you could just leave if it did. On the other hand, you could spend the night in a dark, dangerous forest, where all sorts of unknown creatures could be lurking behind trees, ready to cook you in a stew at any moment. Your legs were carrying you to the cabin before your brain had even thought to pick one of the options you’d so carefully thought about. You dodged all the brambles and tree roots, determined not to fall over now that you could actually see the floor from where the moonlight was boring down between the trees. You found the front door, the blue paint peeling from the wood from wear and tear. Taking a deep breath, you tried the doorknob, groaning when it wouldn’t turn.

“Damn.” You grumbled, trying to think of a plan b. You walked around the property, seeing a dusty window around the back. You wiped your hand over the dust, smearing it but successfully making it easier to see through. You peeked through the window, not noticing anything out of the ordinary from what you could see of the kitchen. You also noticed no food on any of the surfaces. The kitchen counter and the table void of anything other than pots and a large book. You hoped the place had been abandoned and they’d just left bits and pieces around the cabin. You found a back door that held no paint on it, just a simple wooden door, smirking to yourself when you easily opened it. Whoever was last here had obviously failed to lock the back door, which you were very thankful for. You shut the door behind you quietly, flicking the lock on the door so no one could follow you inside. You looked around, being able to see almost the whole first floor of the cabin from where you stood, it being an open layer set up. There was the kitchen that you’d seen through the window, beside that there was a fireplace with an uncomfortable looking sofa sat in front of it, the material made out of patchwork pieces. You noticed in the fireplace a large cauldron, and next to that, a very large cabinet with plenty of labelled bottles on the shelves. This must have belonged to a witch at some point. You hoped she wasn’t coming back anytime soon, knowing they can be very hostile when they want to be, and the last thing you needed was to be cursed to cough up frogs or something. You saw a set of wooden steps leading up to the next floor, but you were more curious about the glistening bright blue liquid you could see in one of the bottles on the shelf. Your curiosity got the better of you, and you walked past the stairs to take a closer look at the bottle.

“Unicorn blood…” You read the label out loud and grimaced, not knowing that unicorns had luminous blue blood. A creak sounded from behind you, causing you to gasp and turn around quickly. You widened your eyes when you saw a young man holding a wand threateningly at you. He stood on the stairs, wearing what you assumed what his night clothes that consisted of navy pants and nothing else. His torso was bare, and you gulped, feeling like you’d not only intruded on his home, but on his privacy. His dark brown hair was almost shoulder length, it looking shaggy from where he had been asleep when you’d barged into his home. You were slightly glad it was a wizard and not a witch, hoping he would be kinder to you than a woman would be.

“Who are you?” His voice was mellow despite his demanding tone, and it felt like soft silk against your ears.

“No one.” You frowned, not really knowing where you got this sudden bout of courage to be defensive from. His frown hardened and he flicked his wand, sparks shooting out from it and making an empty bottle on the counter beside you explode. You jumped in surprise, taking a step away from the broken glass on the floor next to you.

“Tell me.” He growled, his voice no longer sounding as lovely as it first had.

“My name is (Y/N).” You watched him wit nervous eyes, his own dark orbs not once leaving your figure.

“Who sent you?” He took another step down the staircase, the wood creaking underneath his weight, now only one more step away from being on the ground. You furrowed your eyebrows at his words, curious as to what he meant by that.

“No one sent me, I was-” You cut yourself off, not wanting to tell him what you were running from in case he decided to use it against you. “I needed shelter, there was a wolf out there.” You glanced around the cabin looking for possible exits in a hurry, even though you’d only seen the two doors which were now both locked, meaning a fast exit was out of the question. You neglected to tell him that the wolf had plenty of opportunities to harm you, but didn’t, it seemingly having helped you in comparison. He didn’t say anything for a minute, thoughts swirling around his head at what he should do with you. He’d never had anyone find him in his whole three years of living out in the forest, so he had no idea what to do.

“Get out.” He narrowed his eyes at you, taking another step down the stairs. You shook your head.

“No. I can’t go back out there! Something will kill me.” Your eyebrows knitted together, and purposely put a scared look on your face, hoping he would have mercy on you. He took another step, so he was finally on the ground, an evil smirk gracing his face.

“Maybe something will kill you in here.” His face fell back to a hard scowl. His eyes still hadn’t looked anywhere but at you, and you started to feel nervous under his stare.

“I don’t think so.” You folded your arms over your chest, trying to act as brave as you usually were now that he clearly didn’t care if you were scared or not.

“You think you’re brave, but I can see right through you. You’re just a scared little girl…I wonder what you were running from.” His voice held a taunting tone and his smirk grew as he slowly started to approach you. You tried to take a step back but were restricted by the cabinet behind you. You gulped, watching him with worried eyes.

“I told you, I was running from a wolf.” You could feel your palms start to sweat and you were regretting your decision to hide in the cabin. He lowered his wand, letting out a sigh and letting his smirk drop.

“You can take the couch. But you leave tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Sir.” You bowed to him, shuffling over to the couch and slowly lowering yourself onto it.

“If you try anything, I will personally find that wolf and feed you to it myself. Understood?”

“Understood.” You turned you head to him as he ascended up the stairs once more. You let out a sigh, thanking the gods it was a warm night out, so you weren’t going to freeze to death without any blankets. Not wanting to push your luck with the wizard whose name you didn’t even know, you laid down on the couch, having to tuck your legs up to fit properly. It was surprisingly more comfortable than you thought if would be, so you found it easy to drift off to sleep.

---

It was the uncomfortable ache in your neck that woke you up. You groaned as you stretched out on the cramped sofa, the relief you felt in your muscles causing you to moan out loud. You let out a sigh, rubbing your eyes before finally opening them. You jumped in surprise when you saw the homeowner stood over you, staring down at you. He jumped when he saw your eyes open, his face starting to glow a bright red as you stared up at him.

“Pervert.” You mumbled loud enough for him to hear, sitting up and letting out a yawn.

“I’m not a pervert, I just saw you moving and wondered if you wanted some breakfast. But you were still asleep, and I was trying to figure out how to wake you up.” He frowned, crossing his arms over his still shirtless torso. “You’re a very restless sleeper.” He mumbled before walking away from you, heading towards the kitchen which was only about five steps away. You hummed in acknowledgment and stood up, following him to the kitchen.

“What’s for breakfast?” You asked, your eyes trained on his back as he pulled out some bowls from a cupboard.

“Porridge.” He grunted, getting to work on making the food. You watched over his shoulder, grimacing in disgust at the sight of the sloppy porridge.

“I’ve never had porridge before…” He let out a sigh, turning to face you with a face of no emotion.

“That’s because its poor people food, and you clearly come from money.” He looked you up and down, raising an eyebrow at your high-class dress that was torn slightly from your trip through the forest. It was a deep emerald green, made from the finest of materials and tailored to fit you perfectly. “Are you the daughter of a lord or something?” He didn’t look at you as he questioned you, spooning the sloppy food into a bowl and passing it to you with a spoon. You grimaced, hesitantly taking a mouthful and swallowing it fast, too bothered by the pain in your stomach from hunger to care about the taste.

“I am.” You kept your eyes on him as he sat down at his tiny table and chairs, putting his bowl on the table. He also kept his eyes trained on you, not fully trusting of you.

“So why are you in my home and not in your lavish house being waited on hand and foot by your servants?” Your silence had him raising an eyebrow. You awkwardly looked around the room, letting out a long sigh as you debated whether to tell him or not.

“You don’t need to know.”

“You’re in my home. You tell me or you leave.” You looked at him with sorrow in your eyes. He wasn’t expecting to see such an emotion laying behind your eyes, his heart dropping a little at how sad you suddenly looked. He let out a sigh and shrugged. “Whatever, doesn’t matter.” He stood up and turned his back to you as he placed his bowl into a large metal tub used for washing. He winced at how soft he was being with you and he couldn’t help but mentally question himself for how he was acting with you. You finished eating and followed suit, stood beside him with your eyes locked on his body.

“What’s your name?” You asked out of the blue, ultimately disrupting the silence that had settled between you both.

“Renjun.” You furrowed your eyebrows at his name and scrunched your face up in thought.

“That name sounds familiar to me…” You didn’t notice how his fists clenched up at your words, his body becoming stiff as he waited for you to continue. “Maybe I know someone else with that name.” You shrugged it off and let out a soft laugh. “So…can I stay with you?” You smiled widely at him in hopes a smile would persuade him to let you reside with him for the foreseeable future.

“Sure.” He turned to you and plastered on a big smile to mirror your own.

“Really?” You gasped in surprise and perked up slightly.

“No.” His expression fell completely apart from the small smirk on his lips. Your face fell to a pout forming on your lips.

“Please! I can help you out with…whatever it is you do here, and I won’t be a nuisance I swear. I can clean up and er…I don’t know really…please!” When you saw that he wasn’t going to cave in so easily, you let out a sigh and whined. “I’ll do anything, just don’t send me back out there alone!” His smirk rose and he started to approach you, taking slow steps until he had you backed up against his table.

“Anything?” He looked you up and down, not missing the look of fear that flashed on your face as the intimidating stranger had your closed in. He backed off without a second thought, not sure where his compassion for you was blossoming from but he could see you were frightened at the thought of him touching you in an inappropriate way. It then struck him it was probably a man you were running from. “You can stay.” He mumbled.

---

You’d been staying with Renjun for just over a week.  You noticed he didn’t talk much, but you didn’t care, you happily chatted to him even when all you got back was a grunt in reply. He also had a knack for making you jump when you least expected it. He didn’t go out of his way to give you a fright, but the spells and potions he made would often go bang and leave you wondering if he was even good at what he did. You still had no answers as to why he was living on his own so deep in the forest, but you didn’t want to pry, he could kick you out at any moment and then you’d be stranded once more. To say you were struggling with adjusting to life outside of your home was an understatement. You were used to living in a lavish mansion with maids and servants waiting on you hand and foot. So, to live in a cramped cabin and sleep on a tiny sofa every night made you want to ball your eyes out and throw a tantrum. But you held it in. The worst part was…well the toilet, which wasn’t even a proper toilet, but in fact, an outhouse. But you didn’t want to even think about that. The next worst part was bathing. When Renjun had led you on a ten-minute walk to a small lake, you had genuinely thought he was having a joke with you. But his dead serious face told you otherwise. He had told you to bathe in the water and had given you a bar of soap. You timidly poked you toe into the water and the cold temperature had made you gasp so loud you gave him a mini heart attack.

“No. I can’t get in there.” You turned to see Renjun already in his underwear, gasping again and turning around quickly.

“Well then you’ll just have to stink won’t you.” He sounded like he didn’t care, wading into the lake and dunking his head underneath before coming up again. “It’s not that bad.” His words had you frowning. You were used to heated baths in a large silver tub, with the best smelling oils and flowers petals used. So this was a nightmare to you. When you saw Renjun wasn’t looking, you stripped down to your underwear, which were actually Renjun’s underwear as you only had the pair you were wearing when you’d ran into the forest and they were currently soaked in a tub with the rest of your laundry.

“Aren’t there fish and stuff in there?” You raised an eyebrow, slowly taking a step into the water. A shiver ran up your spine and you groaned, taking another step until both of your feet were imbedded in the floor of the lake, the mud making you cringe at the horrid feeling. You took a few more steps until you were closer to Renjun with the water coming up to your hips.

“Mermaids too.” Renjun nonchalantly said, washing himself down with his own bar of soap.

“What?!” Your eyes widened and you were about to turn back around when Renjun’s hand caught your wrist. He gave you a tug and your shoulders were soon underneath the water.

“I’m kidding.” He chuckled, letting go of you and pushing his hair back off of his face. The sun beamed down on his glistening wet skin, and you tried your hardest not to stare at how beautiful his body was. “Do I have to wash you myself or are you just going to stare at me?” He smirked and you found your cheeks heating up quickly, you turned away and started to wash yourself with the soap. “Is that what you’re used to? Having your body washed by your servant’s, little rich girl?” You knew he was mocking you, his tone light and airy.

“No. I’m fully capable of washing my own body thank you.” You huffed, your arms causing unnecessary splashes in the water as you tried to show off how you didn’t find him funny. He simply laughed and you both continued to wash yourselves in the cold water. So yeah, you hated bath time.

Apart from that, it wasn’t all that bad.

You walked through the dense trees with Renjun by your side. He was wearing a black pair of trousers with a loose white shirt that showed off the top of his chest. It was midday, so the forest was lit up well by the hot sun beating down through the gaps in the canopy. You wore one of Renjun’s long shirts as a dress, still not having anymore clothes apart from what you wore the day you arrived at his cabin. But Renjun had told you that he’d sent a raven carrying a letter to someone he can trust. He hopes they’ll bring the items he put on the list so that you can finally have some other clothes.

“So the red berries you can use to make a potion that will kill someone?” You looked at Renjun beside you, his head nodding as a reply as his eyes scoured the floor for the item you were talking about. “And the pink berries you can use to make a love potion?” He nodded again and you made a noise of amazement. “Woah, that’s spectacular!” You picked up a flower that had white petals and a blue bud. “What does this do?”

“Nothing, its just a flower.” He scoffed a laugh, pushing back some loose leaves to uncover the red berries he was talking about. You dropped the flower and stared at the berries.

“Why do you want to kill someone though?”

“Don’t ask so many questions.” He deadpanned, putting the berries into his sack.

“Are you going to make someone fall in love with you?” You tilted your head, unable to stop the questions from pouring out of your mouth.

“No. I make potions to sell on the black market. Potions that can kill, harm, or force someone into something are considered illegal and black magic. But it’s the only way I can get money and food. The person I sent a raven to is the same person who does my deals for me.”

“Isn’t he worried he’ll be caught? You get the death sentence for illegal things like that…”

“He’s a vampire, so no.”

“That’s hot.” You smirked at him, his eyed widened and he gave you a look of shock. You burst into laughter and rolled your eyes. “I’m joking, hey can you make a potion that-” Before you could finish, you stopped talking, the loud shouts that echoed through the trees causing a chill of dread to shoot through your system. The voices sounded identical to that of the ones following you when you were running a week prior. “We need to go.” You gripped onto Renjun’s arm, but the voices got louder and suddenly you were facing the one man you never wanted to see again.

“Hello my love, long time no see.” The man stood in front of you smirked, his thin lips pulling up and making him look dangerous. “I wasn’t best pleased to find out my wife had run away.” His piercing blue eyes looked you up and down. You would have run again, but you were frozen on the spot, and he had five other men stood by his side, all holding swords and looking ready to attack.

“I’m not your wife. We never got married.” You spat with hatred at him, giving him a look of disgust. Renjun stood beside you with a look of confusion on his face, his eyebrows furrowed, and fists clenched.

“I see you’ve already found yourself another man. Such a little whore (Y/N).” He sneered at you and gave Renjun a look up and down.

“I’m not with him. Don’t bring him into this.”

“Who are you?” Renjun completely disregarded everything you just said and threw himself into the situation.

“Did she not tell you about the fiancé that she abandoned? Well, to cut a long story short. I woke up one day to find my lover gone. My men soon found her hiding and she ran into the forest. They tracked her but lost her, and here we are now.”

“No. She didn’t.” You and Renjun turned to look at each other and he hit you with a hard glare. You gulped, a nervous fire burning in the pit of your stomach from how Renjun was staring at you.

“Hand her over and you can go free. But if you don’t, we’ll kill you.” Your ex-fiancé’s lips curled into a blood curdling smirk. Renjun gasped and started to stutter.

“T-take her! I-I don’t w-want no trouble!” He held his arms up beside his head in surrender. Your stomach fell through the floor at how he was giving you up so quickly without even hearing your side of the story. You thought that Renjun was going to stick by your side, but then thought that he actually had no reason to. You were simply mooching off of him and this was his opportunity to get rid of you.

“No Renjun! Please don’t do this!” You grabbed his wrist and begged him, your eyes staring into his and welling up with tears. Your heart was beating fast as two men enclosed on you, not giving you much time to escape as they grabbed you by the arms. “Get off of me!” You squealed and tried to tug yourself away from them. “Stop!” You dug your heels into the floor, but it was no use against the strong henchmen. You looked at your capture and saw his sick, sadistic smile on his face as he grabbed you by the jaw.

“I can’t wait to have you underneath me; I hope he didn’t do much damage to your pretty little cunt.” His words had you shaking at inside, tears falling down your cheeks and you didn’t even want to think of the things he would do to you. “You belong to me. Don’t forget that.” He tapped your cheek and turned to Renjun who was stood looking meek by a tree. “You did good boy. Now go home.” You were being dragged unwillingly through the forest, your back to Renjun but you wanted to scream at him for giving you over like that. You felt betrayed and it was like having a hot knife twisted in your chest.

The tight grips on your arms were suddenly gone, and a purple flash blinded you momentarily. You fell to the floor from no longer having any support from the goons who were holding you captive. You squeezed your eyes shut and heard the sounds of deep grunts, followed by thuds hitting the floor and what you could only describe as knives slashing. Strong arms wrapped around your middle and you whimpered, gripping onto the floor like it would stop whoever was attacking you.

“No! Stop!” You struggled in their arms as you sobbed, wishing you were back in Renjun’s cabin where you felt safe.

“Hey stop, it’s me.” Renjun’s soft voice whispered to you as he pulled you up into his arms. He held you to his chest and shushed you gently. “You’re okay, keep your eyes closed.” He started to walk, carrying you in his arms with ease. You couldn’t help but open your eyes to see what had happened. The sight you were met with had your mouth dropped open and fresh tears to fall from your eyes.

“You killed them?!” You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to rid the image of all six men laying on the floor with their throats slit open. You don’t think you’ll ever forget the sight of your ex-fiancé as he laid on the floor, choking on his own blood as he slowly died. “How did you do that?!”

“With dark magic, I told you not to look!” You hid your face into the crook of his neck as he carried you back to his home despite the fact he’d just murdered six people in front of you. You couldn’t stop the tears the trailed down your face as you stewed in your thoughts the whole journey home. You really thought you were going to be forced into the marriage you didn’t want once again. You let out a long sigh as Renjun gently sat you on his bed. He cupped your face and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. “Are you hurt?” He spoke quietly, his eyes scouring over you as he checked for any marks. “Your arms are going to bruise.” He gently stroked your arms, his fingers barely touching you as he sighed. “When the bruises show, I can heal you.” He sat down beside you and hesitated before he took your hands into his own. He didn’t speak, his eyes trained on your face as he waited for you to break the silence.

“I was born into a rich family, and as soon as I turned 18, they signed me up for an arranged marriage. They recently matched me with him,” You paused, gulping back your emotions as you looked up at the ceiling. “he’s abusive. He would hit me, force me to do things I really didn’t want to do…”

“Did he rape you?” Renjun whispered, his stomach fluttering with butterflies as he waited for you to respond.

“No.” You shook your head, sighing and turning to look at Renjun. “He was waiting for our wedding night.”

“Bastard.” His fists clenched and he growled in disgust.

“So I ran away. That night I broke into your home, I was being chased by his men. A white wolf chased them away and I’m sure it saved me on purpose.” You looked into Renjun’s dark eyes, noticing a strange look behind them that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

“Snowy.”

“Sorry?” You raised an eyebrow in confusion at him.

“Her name is Snowy. Well, it’s not actually her name, but she can’t talk so I just call her Snowy.” He nodded with a small smile on his face as if he was proud of what she did. He gave your hands a squeeze but made no effort to lose contact with you. You had never felt safer in your entire life as what you felt in the middle of the most dangerous forest, in a run-down cabin, with a man you’d only known for just over a week. You felt a sudden rush of affection and thankfulness towards him, knowing if he hadn’t been with you, then you’d be made to marry that monster. You didn’t even want to think of the things he would have done to you as punishment for running away. You leaned your head in, hesitating before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek with your eyes closing as you made contact. Renjun stiffened momentarily, but then relaxed, a soft smile playing at his lips as his cheeks started to turn pink fast.

“Thank you for saving me.” Silence ensued after you pulled away, and you both sat wordlessly on his bed for five minutes before he spoke up once again.

“My mother was the castles witch, or healer as some would say.” He took a deep breath and stared you in the eye, you felt his grip on your hand tighten as he worked up the courage to finally tell his story to someone after so many years of keeping it to himself. “I never knew my father, she just used to tell me that he was a coward and we were better off without him. Anyway, throughout my life, my mother would help me with the gift that she’d passed down to me, and I was getting really good with using magic. One night I decided I needed some answers about my father, so I snuck into her work room and spent hours searching for a recipe for a truth potion. I found it and I brewed it in secret whilst she slept. The next morning I slipped it into her drink, and by midday she was spilling all sorts of secrets out that I never knew about.” He let out a sigh and you noticed that his eyes started to fill with tears.

“You haven’t got to tell me anymore.” You rubbed your thumb over the back of his hand to try and comfort him. “If its too much you haven’t got to.”

“No, I want to.” He took another deep breath and sniffed back his tears. “I asked her about my father, and she said that the King is my father. I got really mad that she never told me, and I threw things around and I said some really nasty stuff. I felt like something was boiling inside of me that I couldn’t control. So I left, because I didn’t want to hurt her. The next thing I did was find the King. Obviously, he knew who I was and that I was his son. We argued and I kept shouting at him, he told me to stop or I would regret it. I didn’t believe that he’d do anything though because it just sounded like empty threats, and I was so angry. He’d slept with my mother when he was married to the Queen, so he never wanted anyone to find out. Then a month after I was born the Queen gave birth to the Prince, so the King threatened my mother that if anyone ever found out, he’d have her killed.” His eyes started to blink faster as he continued on with his story, his eyes glossier than before. “I didn’t stop shouting at him, so he had his guards restrain me while they went to collect my mother. He had them hold me in front of her whilst he slit her throat.” His face crinkled up as a sob left his lips, the memory paining him and causing a dam to burst inside of him. You gulped, your own eyes filling with tears at the thought of what he’d been through.

“Oh no…” You let go of his hands and instead wrapped your arms around his torso, bringing him close to you and rubbing his back in slow circles. “Renjun…” His frame rocked from the sobs he let out. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his hands, letting out a long breath and gulping.

“They killed her in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” He pulled away from your embrace and took your hands back in his own instead, missing the feel of your soft hands within his own. He entwined your fingers with his own and kept his eyes on them as he played with them. “They threw me on the floor in her blood, and I felt so much rage and sadness that I didn’t know what to do. I ran back to my room and I grabbed my wand, I wasn’t even thinking, my legs just carried me. I went to find the King again, but before I could get to him, I came across the Prince in the hall.” He winced as he started to explain what happened next. “I grew up with the Prince, he was my closest friend and the Queen would encourage us to play together despite the fact I was a workers son. She’s a very kind woman, and I believe she knew about her husband’s affair, but she never held it against me or my mother. Obviously, he was worried when he saw me covered in blood, and he kept firing questions at me and trying to stop me from where I was going, he didn’t know I had the intention of killing his father. I was getting overwhelmed, especially with my newly found brother being in front of me. Other people heard the commotion and they came to watch, it was when the King came around the corner that I lost it. I saw red. And Jeno was in my way…” He paused as he thought about how to explain what happened next to you. He squeezed your hand tight as he spoke. “I remember seeing a bright green light emitting from my wand as I raised it at him, then suddenly he was laying in a heap by his fathers’ feet, but he wasn’t human anymore…he was a wolf. I can remember the burning feeling I had in my gut as I fired the curse at him, but I didn’t mean to. I never wanted to harm him, I loved him like a brother, and I was devastated at what I’d done. So I ran, the same way that you had.”

“You had no other choice Renjun, how old were you?”

“Sixteen.” He sighed, resting his head on your shoulder as he shut his eyes. “The feeling I had back then was the same feeling I felt today when those men had their arms around you.” His face hardened and he scowled at the memory.

“You were just a kid; you didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” You tried to reassure him, but you knew it probably made no difference to him. “And you had no other choice today, its not like you had a sword and could fight them in combat.”

“I did though, I wanted other people to hurt…I killed all the knights who chased me, I’m a murderer (Y/N), I have too much dark magic inside of me to be anything other than a bad person. It’s my fault that my mother was killed, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

“Renjun, your mother was murdered in front of you, and you were so young I can only assume that you had no control of powers that strong at such a young age. I’m sorry that you had to go through that. But you can’t change what happened.” You lifted his hands up and placed a kiss to the back of one of them.

“I trust you not to hurt me.”

“I would never hurt you…” You both looked into each other’s eyes as he raised his head from your shoulder. You smiled shyly and your breath hitched as his head crept closer to your own. When your lips were a centimetre away from touching a loud howl ripped through the air, followed by a chorus of more howls. You both pulled away and Renjun stood up fast to peek out of the window beside his bed.

“What’s going on?” You asked with a horrible feeling in your gut even though you knew the threat you had run away from was no long lingering over your head.

“I think some wolves have just found the bodies, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Oh…” You stood up from Renjun’s bed and noticed that the sun had started to set, making the entire cabin eerily dark. Renjun waved his hand over a candle in the corner of his room and a flickering flame brought a new light to the setting.

“When you first came here you said you recognised my name…why?” He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at you.

“You’re a wanted man, but I think you already knew that.” He let out a soft laugh before nodding his head. You thought back to when Renjun had come across you in his home and he’d asked you who had sent you, at the time it confused you, but now it made sense. He was scared for his life, and he had a right to be.

“Yes that’s why I’ve been living deep in a forest most people wouldn’t even dare to enter.” He winked at you and made his way downstairs, you quickly stepped to the window and brushed the curtain aside, peering out into the dense trees. You could have sworn you saw some amber eyes staring at you from far away, but they were gone just as fast as they were there.

“Its been a long day.” You mumbled to yourself and shook your head, trying to clear your mind. Your cheeks heated up as you thought back to the kiss you had nearly shared with Renjun. The image of his face getting closer to your own with his really kissable looking lips was making your palms sweat. You were in the midst of thinking about how things would have turned out had your lips actually met with his own, and you were debating whether you had feelings for the boy you’d only known a week when his footsteps made the stairs creak underneath him. He was carrying your blanket and pillow in his hands which caused you to furrow your eyebrows at him. “What are you doing with those?”

“I don’t want you sleeping on the couch anymore, I just thought maybe you’d want to er…” His cheeks slowly turned red as he stumbled over his words. “Share the b-bed with me?” Your eyes widened and you glanced at his bed. It was definitely big enough to hold the both of you, and you were surprised that he felt comfortable enough with you to do that.

“No funny business?” You raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, enjoying the way he squirmed under your stare.

“(Y/N)!”

“I’m joking!”

---

The soft summer breeze was doing nothing to cool you down. The sun had caused your body to perspire and your flowy maroon dress to stick to your skin, and you took off your shoes in hopes to get some air to them. The richly colourful flowers mixed in with lengthy grass was one of the most calming things you’d witness in a long time. With the large mountains in view, a running stream so close you could hear the water trickling against the rocks, and the forest framing the spacious meadow, you didn’t want to move. The grass was soft against your body as you sat amongst it, Renjun’s head laying in your lap with his eyes shut, basking in the heat of the sun that was beating down from the endless, sapphire blue sky. You gazed down at his shining skin, smiling at the way his long eyelashes laid against his cheeks. His hair had gotten longer in the past two months that you’d known him, but he refused to let you cut it no matter how much you badgered him about it. You ran your hands through his hair and twirled the long locks around your fingers, he let out a soft sigh from how good it felt to him and nuzzled his head into your touch.

“You’re adorable Renjunnie.” You whispered, unsure if he was asleep or not, but the way his nose crinkled in disgust at your words told you he was still awake. “Don’t try to deny it.” You giggled, scratching his scalp with your fingernails as his eyes blinked open, squinting up at you as the sun was so bright.

“You were singing as you were washing our clothes this morning, yet I’m the adorable one?” He closed his eyes again but raised an eyebrow at you.

“You heard me?” You gasped with your eyes wide in surprise, a blush of embarrassment rising on your cheeks.

“Yes you weren’t exactly quiet.”

“Did I wake you up?” You picked at a flower beside you and slid it into Renjun’s hair. You smiled at your handy work and hastily picked another flower.

“No, I was already awake.” He mumbled and yawned, unaware that you were decorating his hair with flowers because your touch was so delicate.

“You kept rolling on me last night.” You sniggered, his eyes opening in surprise and catching you in the act of putting a white flower in his hair. You’d been sharing Renjun’s bed with him since the day you’d both admitted to each other why you were both on the run two months ago. You hadn’t had anymore close encounters of kissing like that had that day, but your feelings towards Renjun had grown significantly the more you got to know him. You took a keen interest in Renjun’s potions and spells, often assisting him with the brewing of potions and doing the grand job of holding his instruments. There was a time when Renjun got frustrated to the point of snapping, and you were nearly in the firing line of a ball of navy-blue fire that flew through the air. It had missed you luckily, and instead the wall of the cabin had a gaping, smouldering hole where the ball had hit it. Renjun had never apologised more in his life than that moment that he’d nearly hurt you, but it brought the two of you closer, especially when you reassured him that you trusted him.  “Why were you so restless? Did you have another bad dream?” Since you’d been sharing his bed with him, you’d witnessed a number of his nightmares. It would start with soft whimpers leaving his lips and would escalate to him becoming agitated and twitchy in his sleep. You didn’t know whether to wake him or not, as the one time you did, he’d woken with such a start that he’d pushed you off of the bed. You didn’t want a repeat of that, so you always waited it out until his body went still once more.

“No, it was a good dream.” His smile was sleepy, and he stared up at you like you were the only thing he could see.

“Care to share?” You brushed the flowers from his hair just as he sat up, leaning on his hand to keep his body upright.

“No, I’m keeping it to myself.” He winked and let out a soft laugh before sighing. “What shall we do tomorrow?” You looked away from him, staring into the dense trees as you racked your brain for ideas of what to do.

“I want to go into town.” When he didn’t reply to you, you turned to see a scowl on his face, his lips pulled into a tight line and his body visibly tense. “I just want to see other people again you know…I miss the smells, the sounds, the food…” He still didn’t speak, thoughts rushing through his head as you spoke. “Renjun say something…”

“You’re not going.” His face was still stern, his eyebrows knitted together as he kept his eyes trained on you. You scoffed in disbelief; you couldn’t believe he had the nerve to tell you there you weren’t going to do something that you wanted to do.

“I wasn’t asking you for permission.” You shot back at him, your face now mirroring his own hard look.

“I don’t care, I’m not allowing you to go to town (Y/N).” You could both see where this was heading. Your tongue pushed into your cheek and you pursed your lips at him, raising an eyebrow as a silent challenge. All your life you’d been underneath the thumb of your parents, and now you had all the freedom you could possibly want, you weren’t going to allow a male to control you again.

“I’m going. Whether you like it or not.” You shrugged at him, watching as his gaze darkened. His fists clenched as he willed the fire burning in his stomach to simmer down.

“No. You are not.” He gripped at some of the grass in an attempt to calm down. “Don’t push me.”

“What makes you think you have the right to tell me what I do and don’t do Renjun. You’re not my father, or my husband. And even if you were, I sure as hell wouldn’t be controlled by you.” You pushed yourself up onto your knees, getting prepared to storm away at any moment.

“(Y/N) do you not understand how much danger you would be in if you went to the town? You even said so yourself that there are people who work for your fiancés family that could come looking for you. You will be walking around with a target on you. What the fuck would I do? I cant go with you because I’m the most wanted man in the entire Kingdom, and I cant just wait here for you to come home, not knowing if someone’s found you, or if a fucking animal has eaten you while you were on your way home. So no. You aren’t going (Y/N). And if you do go, then don’t bother coming back.” He growled with vigour, his eyes staring to glow a disturbing purple colour. Your mouth popped open as you witnessed what you believed to be dark magic taking over the Renjun that you knew. You’d never actually seen first-hand what the dark magic did to his physcial features, only ever seeing the aftermath of his rage running through him. You didn’t know how to calm him down, so you did the one thing you’d been wanting to do since that day he’d saved your life. You cupped his face in your soft hands and pulled his lips to meet your own. You squeezed your eyes shut, so you couldn’t see if what you were doing was helping him to calm down or not. You felt his hands come to rest on your waist, his grip tight to begin with but soon loosening as you moved your lips in perfect time with his. He pulled you from him and you opened your eyes to look at him. He stared into your eyes, his sight flicking down to your lips as he held his hands to your hips. As you looked into his brown eyes, you noticed that sadness behind them and it made your heart sink. He’d already lost the person who meant the most to him in the world, and he no longer had his best friend either. You could see why he was getting upset and angry and immediately regretted how you acted. He visibly gulped

“I’m not going anywhere.” You whispered as you looked to his parted lips.

“Good…” He leaned in once more and slotted his lips between your own. Your eyes shut automatically and you leaned into his touch, stroking your thumbs against his warm cheeks. He very slowly lowered you against the long grass, holding his body over your own as he worked his lips against yours. The feel of his tongue pushing against your own was something you’d never felt before, but it was a welcomed touch, it igniting a fire within you that was new to you. He moved his kisses down your jaw to your neck, sucking softly at your skin and squeezing your hips with his hands.

“I’m in love with you (Y/N)…” He whispered against you, letting out a sigh and resting his forehead in the crook of your neck. He gulped, screwing his eyes shut as he admitted his feelings towards you. “Please love me back.” You could barely hear him as he’d said the words so quietly, his voice cracking from how he got choked up. It broke your heart.

“Renjun…” You laid your hands on his back, rubbing them around in slow circles. You leaned your head against his, holding him to you tightly to comfort him. “I’m in love with you too.” He pulled his head back to look into your eyes, a small smile on his face as he looked down at you.

“I don’t want to lose you; I can’t lose anyone else.” His eyes welled with tears, making them appear glossy and darker than usual.

“You don’t have to, I won’t go.” You lifted your head and placed a tender kiss to his lips.

“Good.” He murmured against your lips, getting lost in your mouth once more. You kissed him for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was only ten minutes, before he descended to kiss at your neck.

“That feels good.” You smiled, your eyes shutting as he sucked a dark bruise into your neck. He smirked, licking a stripe up your skin and letting out a low chuckle. Your legs wrapped around Renjun’s hips, your hands fiddling with the hair at the nape of his neck as he rolled his hips against yours. An involuntary moan spilled from your gaping lips, new feelings of excitement blooming inside of you that you’d never felt before. “Do it again.” You encouraged him, his hips rolling into yours again but with more force. He smiled, giving your lips one last peck before he sat back on his feels, his eyes staring down at your chest as it rose and fell fast from how thrilled you were. His shaky hands reached out as he took the top button of your dress between his fingers. He hesitated, looking you and biting his bottom lip. You nodded your head when you realised that he was wordlessly asking you for permission. He popped open the first button, then worked on opening the next 3 until your bra was on show. He placed both of his hands over your breasts, squeezing them over the plain material and letting out a throaty moan at the sight of what he was doing. You already knew that Renjun was a virgin, and that he’d never even seen a woman naked until he accidentally walked in on you naked one time. But you also knew he’d read books about sex, and that his mother had gotten the castles gardener to give him ‘the talk’ when he was fourteen. You’d also had ‘the talk’ given to you by your mother at the age of sixteen, and you snuck out multiple times to buy adult books that had very graphic explanations of sex in them. But no one needed to know that.

His hands wrapped around your torso and he quickly untied your bra, pulling the loose fabric from your body and setting it down beside you. “Wow…” He mumbled, his mouth popping open in awe at your body. He leaned in, placing gentle kisses to the top of your breasts while he cupped them with his hands. His lips trailed down, and he took one of your nipples between his lips. He looked up at you as he sucked at the sensitive bud, a small gasp falling from your lips at the spark it sent through you. He looked so innocent and content as he swirled his tongue around your nipple, his hips grinding lazily into yours. He moaned against you, his cock quickly hardening in his pants as he moved to the other breast to give it attention. He sat back on his heels once more, palming at his erection and biting his bottom lip. You smirked, sitting up and not hesitating before ridding yourself of your dress completely, only wearing your plain white panties. He followed your lead, pulling his loose white shirt off over his head before shimmying out of his pants. Your lips met in the middle, his hands framing your face as he drove his tongue into your mouth once again. Without thinking, you reached a hand out and squeezed at his hard length through his pants. He pulled back and sucked in a harsh intake of breath, his eyes screwing shut as he sounded pained.

“Is that good or bad?” You immediately withdrew your hand and looked worried, your eyes wide and dripping with simplicity.

“Good, too good.” He grabbed your hand and placed it back where it was before. You giggled softly, rubbing your hand against him as he bucked his hips up towards you. You slipped your hand into his underwear and gulped when you felt his cock against your hand. You didn’t have anything to compare it to, but you were happy with the size of it, but you had a daunting feeling sitting in your gut at whether you were confident in having something of that size inside of you. He pushed his underwear down and set them aside with the rest of his clothes. He watched your face as you stared at his rock-hard appendage, your hand having stilled. “Are you okay?” He took your hand in his and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“Renjun I’ve been sleeping in a bed with you for the past two months, you have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to do this with you. It’s happening.” You grasped him in your hand once more, shuffling yourself forward on your knees as you very slowly stroked his cock. He reached his own hand out and slowly stroked your folds, his eyes widening in surprise at how wet you were already. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but he found your dripping hole fast and slid a finger inside of you. “Oh…” Your mouth popped open and you found your hips moving instinctively against his hand, rolling them in time to his finger dipping in and out of you. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your shoulder, his lips trailing up to where he’d made a dark bruise on your neck. You moaned at the slight pain you felt when he nibbled at the sore spot but leaned into his touch anyway. He slowly slid another finger inside of you, stopping his ministrations when you whimpered in pain, your body going stiff and your hips raising.

“Did I hurt you?” You could hear the worry in his voice, it warming your heart that he was being so gentle with you.

“A little, just give me a few seconds to adjust.” He stayed completely still until you gave him the go ahead, his digits slowly moving in and out of you in a steady rhythm. You took in a deep breath and felt your thighs start to quiver from the little pangs of pleasure you felt every time he plunged his fingers inside of you. He pulled his fingers out of you and gave you a gentle nudge as a wordless hint for you to lay down. You laid back into the long grass, the kaleidoscope of colours from the flowers made your colour pop underneath the sun, the light sheen of sweat over your body making you glisten. Renjun was stunned by your beauty. His heart pounding in his chest as he stared down at the woman he’d fallen in love with in such a short time.

“Tell me if I hurt you or if you want to stop.” He spat in his palm and then stroked his cock a few times. He leaned over you, bracing himself up on one hand beside your head as he used his other hand to guide his cock to your entrance. He rubbed the head of his leaking member against your entrance, coating the head with your juices before very tenderly pushing it against the oozing cavern presented to him. You tensed up, wincing as it felt like you were being split in half.

“Stop!” You whimpered and he halted instantly. You felt bad when you saw the worried look on his face, his lips opening and closing as he tried to garner what to say. “Try again…”

“No. I don’t want to hurt you (Y/N)!” He was about to back off, but you grabbed him by the hair to stop him from moving. “Ow!”

“Sorry! Please, try again.” You pouted up at him, your eyes going comedically wide at him. He let out a sigh and nodded his head in obligement. When your hands had let go of his hair he quickly pulled away, much to your dismay. But before you could whine at him, he scooted backwards in the grass, gripping your thighs in his hands and pulling your hips upwards so that you were laying flat on your back again, your legs spread in front of him. He dipped down without a word and licked a stripe from your hole to your clit. A new feeling came over you as his tongue came in contact with the little bundle of nerves you’d only ever read about in the erotic books you’d secretly read. He watched your reaction and parted your folds with his fingers, leaning in and flicking his tongue against the little bud again. “Oh my…” You breathed out, leaning your head back as you felt like sobbing from how good it felt. He pushed his two fingers inside of you again, working them in and out of you as he sucked on your clit. Without you even noticing he added one more finger, moving them faster as he loosened you up. You felt what you could only describe as an explosion slowly building inside of your stomach, your toes curling and thighs starting to shake as the feeling got stronger.

Without saying anything, he suddenly withdrew from you, leaving you on the edge of your orgasm without even realising it. He hovered over you and very slowly started to push his cock into you once more. You still felt a slight string of pain, but it was considerably duller feeling that what it had been on his first attempt. He stopped once he was fully sheathed inside of you, his forehead resting against your own as you both adjusted to the new feeling. “Make love to me.” You whispered, wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist. His lips met yours in a lingering kiss as he slowly pulled his hips back, pushing inside of you once more. He repeated this until he picked up a leisurely rhythm. He panted and let out soft groans against your lips, your orgasm slowly building back up until you were whimpering for more. You gripped at his back, digging your nails into his perspiring skin as his thrusts started to lose pace. The moment didn’t last as long as you would have hoped, as his body tensed up, he let out a guttural moan as he spilled his hot cum inside of you. He moved his hips slowly for a few moments before he pulled out, the over-stimulation becoming too much for him. He wiped his forehead with his hand and looked down at you.

“I’m sorry, I-I didn’t think it would be that quick…” His cheeks flared up a bright red as he became embarrassed as his short performance. You giggled gently, biting your bottom lip as you watched him.

“You can always use your mouth again…I liked that a lot.” You shyly spoke, your own cheeks flaring up at how lewd your words sounded. A proud smirk rose up on his face as he leaned down, watching as his cum dribbled out of your hole. He used his fingers and pushed it back inside of you, attaching his mouth to your clit and sucking at it profusely as he rammed his fingers in and out of you. It didn’t take long for your first ever orgasm to crash into you like a tree falling on top of you. The air was snatched from your lungs and you saw stars that clouded over your vision. You tried to catch your breath, but you were struggling as your body adjusted to life after your orgasm. Renjun pulled his fingers out of you and watched against as his cum seeped from you, his bottom lip being tugged between his teeth in fascination. He didn’t want to alarm you, so he didn’t tell you about the small amount of blood mixed in with the white of his cum. He grabbed his shirt and hurried to clean you up with it, helping you get dressed and pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. He had to help you stand up, your legs wobbly from the strain they’d been through. You wrapped your arms around him and smiled up at him with a look of pure admiration and love settled on your features.

“What are you thinking?” You grinned up at him, curious as to what was playing on his mind after what the two of you had just done.

“That it was exactly like my dream…what are you thinking?” He’d put his pants back on but opted not to wear his now dirty shirt.

“How happy I am, thank you for taking me in and giving me this life.” You pressed a soft kiss to his jaw, unable to stop the wide smile that spread across your lips.

“I should be the one thanking you, I finally have someone to care about again. I was so lonely…”

“You never have to be lonely again.”

---

The gentle lull of Renjun’s soft voice was causing your eyes to droop. The flickering fire in front of you was creating a warmth over you that made you just want to drift off into the land of sleep. The sun had long gone down, and after a filling meal you and Renjun had cooked together had been consumed, you decided to snuggle up to him on the sofa. It was his idea to read a book aloud as your entertainment for the night. At first, you’d thought of it as a good idea, but the more he droned on, not putting much enthusiasm into making different voices for the different characters like you did, the sleepier you felt. You were surprised in yourself that you didn’t want him to bend your legs behind your ears and give you the fucking of a lifetime like you did most nights since you’d both lost your virginities to each other over a month prior. You’d been surprised when Renjun had brewed a strange tasting concoction that he claimed would prevent you from falling pregnant, and truth be told, you dreaded swallowing the sickly liquid that tasted like dirt. But if it meant you could have as much sex as you liked without the chances of creating unwanted babies, then you’d drink gallons of the stuff. Its not that you didn’t want children with him, but it just wasn’t convenient with your living situation. Your home was too tiny, and you could barely look after yourself at your age after having been spoilt your entire life by your parents. So babies were out of the question until a later date.

“Are you still awake?” Renjun paused his reading to ask you, his head leaning back to try and see your eyes from where you had your head pressed into his chest.

“Hmm.” You made a short noise to show that you were still listening to him, even if you had lost what was happening in the story, he was telling you. You got lost in your thoughts once more as he started again. You thought back to his past, and about how he told you he was the son of the King. A question popped into your mind that you couldn’t help but ask immediately. “If you’re the King’s first son, then aren’t you the heir to the throne?” You cut him off and he went dead silent as he thought about your words. He didn’t often like to talk about his past, and if it got brought up, he would hurry to change the subject, or he’d distract you with kisses and random flowers that he magicked up out of nowhere.

“No. I’m an illegitimate son that was born out of wedlock. I couldn’t ever sit on the throne, and I don’t want to. It’s not the life for me.” He shrugged, closing the book and setting it down on the table beside the sofa.

“Oh.” You didn’t know what to say, so started to look around the cabin awkwardly. You stared out of the window into the dark forest, noticing a pair of amber eyes staring back at you. You remembered back to the time you’d seen them before but had dismissed it as your imagination. You knew it was Snowy’s eyes, as her eyes were a vibrant green, not a threatening amber like the ones staring back into you. You gulped, ripping your eyes away and pulling away form Renjun. “There’s someone…something watching us.” You whispered, a horrible chill rippling through you and settling in the pit of your stomach in a horrible ball of anxiety.

“What?” He frowned, sitting up and reaching for his wand on the table.

“Outside.” You flicked your eyes over to the window subtly, not wanting the creature to know that you were alerting someone of its presence. One thing you’d learned from your time living in the forest was that the habitants of the dangerous woods were very smart. Your stomach dropped further into the floor when the eyes were gone. “It’s gone…” Renjun jumped up and you both went dead silent. You could feel your hands shaking unwillingly as Renjun held a hand out to the fire, turning it from a flickering flame to a dull ember that didn’t give off as much light.

“I’m scared.” You whispered as rustling noises came from outside the wooden walls of the cabin. You gulped, tears filling your eyes as Renjun pulled you to your feet. He wrapped an arm around your protectively, but you knew he was only doing it to comfort you. The rustling circled around the house before coming to a dead stop, the silence eerily haunting you and all you could hear was your own heartbeat thudding inside of your chest. No more noise was heard from outside so Renjun placed his wand on the table once more, going over to the window and drawing the curtain shut.

“It’s gone, probably just a curios wolf. It happens every now and then.” He went back to you and cupped your face in his hands. “Nothing will hurt you as long as I’m still breathing okay?” You opened your mouth to reply, but as you did, the door to the cabin caved in with an ear-splitting noise of the wood splinting and crashing to the floor. You screamed, Renjun pushing you behind him as he made to grab for his wand. In front of you, where the door had once been, was a wolf bigger than any you had seen before. Its fur was as black as a starless night sky. The same amber eyes staring at you as what had been before through the glass of the window. The wolf stared straight at Renjun, not even glancing at you as it bared its teeth. But it made no move to attack either of you. Renjun had his wand raised, staring at the wolf almost as if the two of them were challenging each other. It couldn’t even fit through the doorframe, only its head poking in through the gap where the door once was. You wondered why Renjun hadn’t done anything to get rid of the wolf, not even saying anything as a warning to it. The wolf backed off and disappeared out of sight, leaving you confused and without answers. “Stay here.” Renjun’s voice was stern as he addressed you, his legs moving fast as he rushed through the exit of the cabin.

“Don’t go out there!” You squeaked, not listening to him as you followed him quickly. When your body hit the cool night air you looked at Renjun who was froze on the spot. In front of him was a naked young man, who had hair that matched the wolfs fur, with amber eyes to match. You gulped, not saying anything as you stayed back and watched the two men stare at each other.

“Jeno…” Renjun finally spoke, his voice coming out raspy as his throat had dried up in shock at seeing his brother in front of him.

“Took you long enough to recognise me, considering it was you who did this to me.” The boy growled back, baring his teeth at Renjun like a wolf would. You couldn’t quite believe what was happening in front of you. Renjun had finally been found by his brother and was being confronted about what he did.

“Jeno it was an accident.” Renjun sighed out, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“I don’t give a fuck if it was an accident! You ruined my life, and then ran off before I could even find out why the fuck you did this to me!!” He sounded mad, his voice coming out like a growl. He stretched his neck out and took in a deep breath like he was trying to control himself.

“I had to run away; your father would have killed me for what I did to you.”

“Good. I want answers, then I’ll decided whether I let you live or whether I rip your throat out.” Your face crinkled up as he said that, tears falling from your eyes as you realised the severity of the situation. Jeno flicked his gaze to you, and then he looked back at Renjun. “You don’t deserve any happiness.” Renjun sighed, dropping his wand to the floor and slowly approaching Jeno.

“Fine.” He took a deep breath and his shoulders tensed as he starting to explain to Jeno. “Your father killed my mother, and I wanted revenge. I was on my way to get my revenge when you got in my way. I told you to move and you didn’t. I couldn’t help the dark magic that came out of me Jeno. I never wanted to do this to you Jeno…you know how close we were, and I am sorry.” Jeno narrowed his eyes as he listened, his eyes widening once when Renjun blamed Jeno’s father for his mother’s death. He screwed his eyes shut and let out a yell in frustration.

“It makes no fucking sense Renjun!!! Why would my father just randomly kill your mother?!”

“Jeno…you don’t know do you?” Renjun’s voice suddenly sounded very soft, almost like he was on the verge of tears.

“Know what?” Jeno gulped as he waited for Renjun to speak. Renjun took a deep breath and spoke clearly.

“I’m your brother…”

(A/N: Hi! I hope you liked this instalment to the Charia Kingdom series, if you liked it, please reblog it and give me some feedback if you want me to continue on with the series. thank you!)

[silverryu25]

Ok ok here me out. So what if I’m the dragon au sans is invited to a ball. His lazy butt would rather nap with his big dragon skellie . But atlas his father is gently pushing him to find a prince. Dragon red feels jealous and possessive over sans but knows he’s not. A Prince Charming. He knows he’s not handsome, charming or princely. So maybe he finds a spell or potion that turns him normal and tries to impress sans at the ball ? I don’t know. Any ideas a what’s gonna happen next ?

Oh stars noony yassss! I love this!! >:3c

Ok lemme just share a tiny silly thing with you noony cause this idea made me so happy X3

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Let’s say Sans is lazing about under tree, napping (like in the pic the amazing @fuzzyzzz drew X3), while Red is off doing something (hunting or just dragon things). They don’t really expect any trouble cause I mean... who would mess with a dragon, right? And by then Red and Sans earned a reputation amongst the knights and princess to better leave them alone >;3

But one person is not ready to give up. Sans’ father, the king, Gaster >.>

He decides enough is enough. His wayward son was supposed to be “trapped” in the tower with that horrible excuse for a dragon (yes I wanna hit him for this too >:|) only for a short time. A worthy prince or knight was supposed to save him and marry him so Gaster doesn’t have to worry about a successor. He did have another son, but that one was just too kind and innocent for king work.

So king Gaster was determined to have Sans succeed after he marries.

And yet it just didn’t happen. That blasted nuisance of a dragon somehow kept chasing off all the princes and knights, and running Gaster’s well set plans (what he didn’t know is that Sans was the one helping Red chase them all of XD). Deciding enough was enough, it was time to change tactics, plan B so to say.

A ball.

If no one was worthy to “save” Sans, then he would be the one to choose the appropriate one at a ball. And Sans will have to be there, he had no choice. After all, Gaster wasn’t a horribly cruel man. He wanted to choose someone that would fit Sans at least a little, though that silly love thing that these kids were spouting about didn’t really matter. He will find Sans a comfortable enough spouse and that will be it.

Now he just had to get that wayward princess home.

So as Sans was lazing around, napping away, unattended, some knights kidnapped him and silenced him before he could call for Red. He was roughly carried home where his father, the king, made certain Sans knew what will happen. When Sans protested and tried to explain that he was in love with the dragon that kept saving him, Gaster had him locked up in a tower, with Sans’ magic locked so he couldn’t run ;^;

I don’t have to explain how pissed Red was when he didn’t find Sans! He tore down everything around the tower Sans was “trapped” in and searched and yelled for Sans for hours. When his stamina finally depleted, he crumpled to the ground absolutely furious but unable to do anything. Somehow, he managed to pull himself together and decided to search away from that place. Thankfully, in his rage he broke the magic that bound him to the tower (though it hurt... a lot >.>).

He quickly found some old friends that helped him find clues on where his princess could be. A ball. A fuckin’ ball??? He was ready to storm that bastard’s castle and take his tiny princess back! But one of his friends stopped him cause raiding the castle would lead to certain death. Red would have to be smart about this. He needed to get Sans without a fight. So... why not go to the ball and win his little princesses hand in marriage? >:3c

Red very reluctantly agreed.

He didn’t know what kind of fire power this damn king Gaster had and he didn’t want to risk Sans getting hurt. So he accepted. But he had to look less... murder dragon for the plan to work. A favor from a witch and he got a potion that turned him “human”, or well less “big murder beast” and more “respectable monster” sized XD

But dear reader, there is one thing the potion couldn’t really change. It might have made Red look like a handsome knight or prince. Made his scary looks soften up and give him that strong but not terrifying appearance (he still had horns and a tail, though smaller, but his wings were gone). But the outside does not change the inside, you know? The dragon was still lurking inside that smaller, still powerful, frame. It’s hard to hide one’s nature after all >:3c

The ball came.

Everyone who was anyone came. The palace was overflowing with noble knits, princes from different countries, noblemen ready to show their best. To get the hand of the princess. And to become the next king besides Sans.

Sans was suffocating. It was horrible. He was stuck in an extremely frilly dress that made it almost impossible to move (part of Gaster’s plan to make it harder for Sans to run) and there was nothing he could do. He could barely pass trough a doorway for freaking sake! His mood was sour and it showed. Everyone he was introduced to him were ignored or scoffed at. Gaster even had to threaten Sans that he better stop it if he doesn’t want to cause an international incident.

So he toned it down but still didn’t pay attention to anyone. What was he use anyway, when his father wouldn’t listen? He had to get away. That was the only way he could avoid this miserable fate. He was sure Red would keep him safe once they were reunited. And he’d never let Sans be kidnapped again. Sans just had to get to Red, cause he knew Red was bound to that tower he was in. So Sans had to do his best and run.

While pondering how he would escape, Sans was walking around the big ballroom, trying to escape the different suitors. His plan was (mostly) working. Anyone who got in his way was ignored with an excuse that he was going to see someone else, or going to get some food at the buffet or whatever, just so he could run.

In his rush to run from an especially clingy noble, he wasn’t paying attention in front of him and he run into someone. With an umph Sans was knocked down on his boney butt, the dress piling up around him, practically burying him under the frills and layers. With a desperate struggle he tried to get out of the pile, but it was hopeless. Suddenly, there was a strong hand grabbing his (very gently) and pulling him up, like he weighed nothing. He quickly found his balance and flattened out his dress, making it possible to stand again.

With a deep breath to steel himself cause he knew he couldn’t get away from this one after they helped him, Sans looked up with a thank you on his teeth, then froze. There was a skeleton monster in front of him but all he could see was teeth. Big and sharp teeth smiling down at him. The monster in front was big, at least double Sans’ height. The size didn’t really scare Sans, he was used to Red’s size and this monster wasn’t nearly as big. But something in the monster’s eyelights and the way his teeth curled made Sans pause. He looked... familiar.

He snapped out of his surprise and thanked the monster. The other didn’t say anything just blushed and nodded. There was something... strange about him. He was wearing a suit that didn’t fit him right, as if it was rushed. It was expensive looking, like the rest of the guests were wearing, but the monster looked extremely uncomfortable in it. Sans could even see him pulling at the collar when he thought Sans wasn’t looking. Weird.

He was intrigued. And since he couldn’t run right now he could see why this monster made his soul pulse in a weird way. So he took the offered hand and followed the monster to the side. They stood there in silence a bit, it was as if the monster wouldn’t or couldn’t talk (he couldn’t, that’s one of the side effects of the potion... where would the fun be if there weren’t any consequences >;3).

Sans noticed the big monster eyeing the buffet, a little drool escaping between those sharp teeth and with a chuckle, he dragged the monster to the food-ladden tables. With a red blush, the big monster looked at Sans like he was waiting for permission. Sans gave him a smile and a nod and all hell broke lose! 

The big monster ate like he hadn’t seen food in ages, stuffing himself and making a scene. Sans could see his father frowning disapprovingly and he couldn’t help but laugh. When Gaster started storming towards them, Sans grabbed the monsters hand and ran! As much as he could in that blasted getup. The big monster was startled at first, not understanding what was going on, but when he noticed the angry king nearing them he quickly lifted Sans into his arms, making the dress crumple, and ran as fast as his long legs could carry him.

They ran through the crowd at full speed, knocking monsters left and right, outrage and curses following their steps. Until they burst onto a balcony. Thankfully it was empty. The big monster quickly shut the door and pulled a big stone vase to block it. Sans wasn’t sure how he even moved it, it was huge! Yet the monster did it with one hand.

With a raised bonebrow, Sans gave the big monster a closer look. With a gentle phalanges, Sans traced the scars on the monsters skull, being very careful not to hurt. He pet over the horns and scratched the base like he would do to Red. He didn’t know what made him do that, but it felt right. When the big monster started purring and nuzzling into Sans’ hand, he was startled. And when he saw a tail with a specific tip wagging behind the monster his eyelights practically turned into stars.

“red?” Sans whispered, almost unheard.

But the big monster heard it and he smiled, giving a sharp nod and a wink. Sans squealed let out a happy sound and hugged Red’s neck, almost strangling the bigger monster. He started showering Red with questions about how he got there, how does he look like that, why he didn’t say anything. Red shook his head and held Sans a bit closer, to make sure he was comfortable. He used his free hand to show that he couldn’t talk.

Sans’ face morphed into a worried frown. He was worried Red would stay like that, that Red sacrificed his voice forever just to save Sans. But Red quickly stopped that. He took Sans’ chin in his hands, and made the little monster focus on him. He shook his head, trying to explain that it wasn’t permanent. Sans, being a smart skelly, understood and asked how to undo it then? Red... blushed. Hard. And looked to the side. Sans was confused at first, but the way Red was acting and memories of old stories made the gears in head turn. Then he blushed right along Red.

“a kiss.” He concluded. Red snapped his head back, blushing even harder. But he gave a small nod, confirming Sans’ words.

Suddenly, the doors to the balcony started rattling. They were found! The guards were trying to bust onto the balcony and, knowing king Gaster, separate them. Quickly, Sans grabbed both sides of Red’s face, squishing his cheeks a bit (Sans would have giggled at this if the situation wasn’t urgent). They stared at each other and both saw the consent in each others eyelights.

With a gentle hand, careful with his claws, Red pulled Sans closer until their teeth met, sockets closing. A surge of magic spark between their teeth, spreading and engulfing Red’s whole body. With a ripping sound, the fancy clothes were torn to shreds as Red’s body grew bigger, into his full dragon form.

Just as the glow was subsiding, the door broke and the guards rushed out. But they were met with a fearsome roar that knocked them all on their asses. Red stood up on his hind legs and spread his wings, still holding Sans in one of his front paws, and glaring down at the knights.

With a curse at their incompetence, the king made his way between the knights, only to stop in front of the dragon and glare at him. With a authoritative voice he demanded that Red release Sans, but Red just glared back not moving at all.

Instead, Sans yelled down to his father that he won’t be coming home again. With a tap to Red’s ribs he looked up and nodded at the big monster. Red looked at him, held him closer to his ribs, making sure Sans is safe, and used his powerful hind legs to jump up, flapping his wings hard to lift into the air.

The king could only watch impotently as his son eloped with a dragon.

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Damn this practically turned into a fic... I have no self control noonies >.>

I really hope you like it noony!! This took forever but I love it! It was so fun to write!

[ticklish-touch]

I’m With You in the Dark

Last year, I made a poll seeing who would be interested in reading a story about my tickle monster Rags meeting my favorite character in Deltarune, Jevil. Even though I got a very positive response overall, I... chickened out. :’D I've always felt very self-conscious about writing fanfics, especially ones involving my OCs with canon characters. I grew up with other weeb friends who thought fanfic in general was very cringey and taboo. But at the end of the day, as long as people aren't writing about shipping real-life people or kink shit with minors, they have the freedom to write what they want if it helps them express themselves. Ever since last year, Jevil has become a very important character to me. There are hundreds of wonderful creative interpretations of him and his possible backstory; and, as someone who has depersonalization spells, existential thoughts about reality & the universe, enjoys making other people laugh even at my own expense, and a chaotic inner voice that constantly tells me "AREN'T YOU TIRED OF BEING NICE, DON'T YOU JUST WANNA GO APESHIT??" this little gremlin has become a comfort character; one that I also highly enjoy cosplaying. And, frankly, what better year to post a story about nihilism than 2020?  👍   So, this is just a "what-if" scenario, if someone else besides Gaster with some degree of omniscience was able to show the poor jester that there's more to life than just waiting for the Void to take over. And if anyone takes anything away from this, I just want it to be the hope that things will get better. You are allowed to be hopeful, and happy, and make positive connections with people even if you've had harmful experiences with people over past mistakes from either side. We're in this together; you aren't always going to be alone, your suffering won't be in vain. This, too, shall pass. So please, stay determined. Happy Halloween, everyone!!  🎃 🦇 👻 🤡 Story below the cut!

       The mischievous Nightmare felt a peculiar pull at his mind as he lurked through the foggy darkness in search of another playmate: A chaotic soul resonating with nearly as much feral playfulness and craving for laughter as his own. But there was something...Off. This mind, this essence, was splintered and broken, re-mended into something different... A shadow of its former self. Joy and mischief and enthusiasm for the world, replaced by existential dread and loneliness...

         The silent cry for help brought Ragaeli to a reality he'd never been in: One of the many infinite parallel dimensions to Earth that existed in the endless void of spacetime. At a brief glance, he could see there was a race called Darkners. They seemed to be the joy of childlike imagination brought to life; living, breathing checker and chess pieces, puzzle pieces, stuffed toys and squeaky mallets and lego blocks.

         And, within a card castle not unlike the story of Alice in Wonderland, deep within a huge cell locked by powerful magic, a rotund little jester with a black and purple wardrobe was bouncing about, creating myriads of dazzling diamonds, spades, hearts and clovers. He appeared to be an imp with a J-shaped tail, a round noseless face, pointy ears, deep black pits for eyes and serrated, lemon-yellow teeth stretched into a smile as he laughed gleefully to himself.

        The Nightmare split open a doorway of crackling energy, leaping through, landing on the indigo striped ground with a THUD. The floor was very plush and unsteady, like the inflated floor of a bouncy castle. "Weellll now, it sure seems like a party in here~ But what kind of party only has one guest, hmm?"

        Immediately, the small jester jumped, his head launching out on a spring coil like a Jack-in-the-box. "AIYEEE-!! What, what?! Who are you? Did...Did you escape too??" He glided over to the tall figure, eyeing him over. At first, his lips twitched and seemed as if they were going to form into a frown. But instead he responded with a forced grin. "Uee-hee hee, I see, I see... It seems they've finally replaced little old me~!" He bounced up on his tail to flick playfully at Ragaeli's chest bells, spiraling around him to tug at his flaps, hair and spandex. "Hmmm, not bad~ And you can't go wrong with being a stripey lad; I guess the Kings have some taste after all! But where is your hat?? A jester with no hat is like a witch without their cat!" He glided around behind Ragaeli and his eyes widened. "A hand on your tail?? Now that's just excessive!!"          "I must say your rhyme scheme is really quite impressive~" Ragaeli giggled, his head turned 180 degrees to look down at the jester.          Jevil couldn't help but giggle too. "Uee hee hee, why thank you, thank you~!" He hovered upside-down in front of the larger monster, summoning a deck of cards, shuffling them up. "The tales must be true, that each suit has two. A black and a red...I always assumed the other must just be dead!!" He snickered, making the cards disappear up his sleeve, then turned back upright, folding his arms, his purple tail lashing about behind him like an agitated cat, his tone twinged with jealousy. "Well since they've decided that red suits their court more, you'd better not be a bore! To replace me is to replace the wittiest of all the players in this castle full of nay-sayers!"

         "Hehehe, now, don't get your tail in a twist, I'm no replacement," Ragaeli playfully flicked one of Jevil's bells. "Name's Ragaeli, but you can call me Rags, Ragdoll, Ragtime, Rag-Tag, just don't call me boring, heheh~ I'm not even from this world, you see. Would you believe me when I say there are other worlds out there? Other dimensions?"          Jevil giggled at all the nicknames, then his face lit up, his annoyance quickly shifting to curiosity. "Oh yes, yes, I know it to be true!! He chuckled. "Your world, it is a game too? Or is it more "real" than what we can perceive?"          Ragaeli raised an eyebrow. "A game, hmm? I suppose you can say that," He smirked. "My world is, in a sense, "Not real" as well. Not to the people of Earth anyways. It's thanks to their thoughts and emotions, their hopeful desires in the depths of their darkest thoughts, that I exist at all. And because of that," His grin turned devilish and he rapped his fingers together in a comically villainous fashion. "I can appear to any of them that I want. I can play all kinds of games with them~ I have no limits to what I can do in my realm, and Earth itself is my playground, a game that will never end~"

         The jester listened with fascination, then cackled again, seeming elated as he bounced around in midair. "Oh I'm SO happy!! Someone else finally sees!! There is another who's been set free!!" Then his giddy tone turned to a snarl. "THEY didn't believe me!! THEY were all blind, blind!!" Magic energy crackled around him. "I ONLY wanted to HELP them!! I only wanted them to be privy to the danger, danger they would face if they didn't try to free themselves of this pointless rat race!!"         Ragaeli's brow furrowed. "Who's them? Who put you in here? A jolly little hellion like you shouldn't be locked away like this, 'specially if you think your castle's in danger."        Jevil quickly shook his head, puffing his chest out indignantly. "It is not I that has been locked away! They chose their own prison, they dug their own graves! The court wouldn't listen, they didn't want to play, and now for their bullheadedness THEY'RE the ones having to pay!!"

        The Nightmare latched onto the images flashing through Jevil's mind, learning bits and pieces about the royal court that ruled the dark castle. It definitely appeared that things were in disarray, and the court jester's loneliness bubbled into a well of resentment...         The continued rush of memories manifested into the image of a strange entity that came to the jester before his imprisonment: A ghostly creature, cloaked in inky blackness, with large round holes in his skeletal hands and a twisted grin frozen on his skull-like head, a single white pupil glowing out from the cracked eyesockets with a sickly light. Even the Nightmare, who had seen every hellish iteration of fear and hatred, knew that this...thing, was bad news. He existed, yet was nonexistant. He was fractured across all of time and space, yet remained trapped unmoving inside the Void. He was filled with hopelessness, bitterness, egoism, an unyielding ambition to drag anything and everything down into the same all-consuming darkness. An unfortunate victim of his own hubris, now a sociopath with cold disregard for individual worth except the desire to dissect everything and everyone he could latch onto. And it happened that Jevil, who craved mischief and adventure and purpose in his seemingly small role in the kingdom, was the latest test subject.         Ragaeli's hair stood up on end and a low, near demonic growl rumbled in his throat. "And what, exactly, did this thing show you?"         The growl made Jevil gasp, stopping him in his tracks, looking up at the large entity with trepidation. "H-He showed me everything, everything!! He showed me the beginning, the end of all things, he showed me the truth of this world and all worlds in the cosmos, that nothing is as it seems, nothing means anything, but because anything can be nothing, nothing can be everything--"          "Alright, enough, I'm stopping you right there, Lovecraft," In a swift movement, he tugged the rim of Jevil's hat over his face.         "YEEE- H-HEY!!" The frazzled jester fixed his hat, puffing his cheeks out at Ragaeli, his tail whipping about even more wildly.          "Whoever this Wing-dinged handy-man is sure isn't very handy if all he can do is fill your head with nihilistic nonsense," Ragaeli stuck out his tongue. "Sounds like someone who had a rotten time of it is now trying to ruin everyone else's fun."         "No, no, not at all!!" Jevil leapt on top of Ragaeli's head and perched like a cat. "Because of him, I can have more fun than I ever thought possible!! You'll see, you'll see!! They're bringing back the key!!" He giggled madly. "Three visitors, all questing in vain to bring an end to a game that doesn't matter, and once I am back inside their world of lies I will spread my truth everywhere and everyone will thank me!!" He cackled. "But first I should thank you for keeping me company~" He leapt off and glided in front of the Nightmare. From the center of his dark eyes, yellow irises began to glow brightly. "It's been so long since someone has lent an ear, so I'll show you my favorite game~"  In a flash, he launched a glowing diamond, sharp as a sword, at the speed of a flying bullet into Ragaeli's stomach.

         But the diamond disappeared on contact. Instead of yelping in pain, Ragaeli shrieked and doubled over as the energy shot a ticklish burst through him. "GYEEEE-HEEHEE!!"         Jevil looked baffled. "...What, what?? Laughter?" He tilted his head, summoning a spinning barrage of clubs that shot at Ragaeli's legs, chest and sides like machine gun ammunition.         And again, the Nightmare was bombarded with a barrage of ticklish electricity, causing him to crumple on the plush floor with cackling laughter. "AIYEEE-HAHAHAHA!!" After the sensation wore off, he continued to let out giddy laughter as he saw Jevil's incredulous expression. "WHOOO-WEE, now that was a good one!!"          Jevil couldn't help but snort back his own laughter at the Nightmare's comical reactions, but he seemed even more puzzled. "Is someone ticklish, ticklish? That isn't how I'm trying to play, but it makes things interesting, needless to say~" He giggled a bit. "But then...How am I supposed to play my game if you've got no numbers to claim??"          Ragaeli shook his head, jumping up into the air to recline as if laying back on a sofa. "You silly little imp, do you really think that's the only way to play with others? Taking this "HP" until they're gone for good? What would you do then when there's no-one left to have fun with?" He gave a pout.         Jevil shook his head quickly. "No no, they're not really gone!! Weren't you listening, listening?? It's all a game!! They can come back!! Losing is just a minor setback~!"

         The Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"         "Because the Stranger showed me!! He can mess with the code, he can change--"         "How do YOU know that?" Ragaeli barked. "Forget about him, can YOU bring them back??"         Jevil shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not, but if they lose then that's just how it goes~ Such is the way of this game we all play!"         The Nightmare rolled his eyes. "So... you wanna play by the game's rules, huh? How boring."

        The jester's malicious snickering immediately stopped, and he stiffened up.          Ragaeli narrowed his gaze, prying at the jester's mind a bit more. "What is it you've said? You can do anything? So why not shake it up and take this game into your own hands? If you're really free, then PROVE it!"

        For once, the manic jester took pause.

        "Think about what it is YOU want in this game we all call life!"

         Jevil lifted a gloved finger, unable to answer at first. Then his bright yellow irises faded again. "What I want...?" He lowered his head. "What I want..." A quiet giggle bubbled up from inside him. "I just want them to be free, free with me..." He hovered higher, seeming to vibrate with an intense magical aura, and raised his arms. The room began to spin around the central pole, as if it were revolving around the world's axis. "To break their cage and create a NEW stage, where everyone can play, play to their heart's content!! Free from this kingdom of rules and lies!!" He snarled. "I want them to PAY for making me play in my freedom all alone, every night and every day!!" He bellowed. Carnival music began to emanate from all around them, starting quiet then gaining in tempo. "I want them to say, "To HELL with rules, I will break these chains and embrace the chaos, CHAOS!!" He laughed maniacally, and from every curve of the rounded ceiling, more of his symbols appeared; Hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs, all aimed at Ragaeli, launching toward him like speeding bullets.          The Nightmare answered with his own giddy laugh. "Ohhh, how interesting! Well then, let's play for a while and I might just help you make your wish come true~!" He nonchalantly bounded away from the trajectory of the magic, dodging, swooping, teleporting and even dancing and pirouetting away. Occasionally they would hit, and once again he would shriek in surprise and burst into laughter. "GYAAAH-HAHAHAHA!!"          Jevil giggled, no longer bothered that his attacks weren't causing any 'HP' damage. "I wonder; How long will it take before you finally break~?"          The Nightmare smirked dangerously. "I could ask you the same thing!" His hair suddenly jumped to life, tendrils leaping forward and bombarding the jester's chubby belly, sending electric pulses of ticklishness through him.

         "UEEEE-HEE-HEEEE!!" Jevil shrieked with laughter and flailed for a moment before poofing himself to the other side of the room. A bright purple blush filled his cheeks and he clutched his belly, gawking at Ragaeli. "N...NO FAIR, NO FAIR!! IT WASN'T YOUR TURN YET!!"          Ragaeli giggled. "You really think a tickle monster is gonna play fair? Now what's the fun in that~?"          Jevil huffed and his pout shifted to a malicious grin. "Uee hee hee; Fine, fine, I also won't play fair!! Let's see you laugh about THIS!" With a flash, he summoned a large ornate striped sickle, teleporting close and taking a swift swing at Ragaeli, catching him in the middle of the striped pattern on his leotard.          The Nightmare's torso came clean off his legs, not with any blood or guts but with a cartoonish POP. "WHOA!! Caught me off guard with that one, took my top clean off ya did!!" His tone went cockney, and he grabbed his legs and re-attached them as if he'd been de-pantsed.

         Jevil balked, then doubled over backwards with laughter. "HYEE-HEEHEE HAHAHAH Oh my stahahars, you're a fun one, you are!!" His scythe disappeared with a flash, a new wave of glee bubbling up in him. "You really are like me!! Your body cannot be killed!! That means you can stay here and play as long as we want!! I'm so THRILLED!!" He laughed with jubilation and raised his arms, and from the walls emerged a bizarre set of carousel horses, with the bodies of rubber ducks, all of which began to circle rapidly around the room. "Go ahead, hop on~! But better watch out, these horsies have a mean bite~"

         The Nightmare snickered and dove into a cartwheel, throwing himself onto the back of one of the figures, which tried to toss him off like a bucking bronco. "Piece of cake, I've wrangled a few horsies in my d-AAGH!!" He was swiftly knocked off by a flying duck ramming him at full force, sending him careening into the spinning walls of the room. He bounced off of the squishy surface and lay crumpled in a heap, cracking up with hyena-like hysterics. Jevil, too, giggled hysterically at his opponent's prat-fall. It felt so grand to finally have someone to play with again!!

        And so, their antics continued. Jevil came at Ragaeli with everything he had, and the Nightmare almost effortlessly parried it away with his meaty hands or flexible limbs. As Jevil revealed more and more tricks up his sleeve, from his ability to shapeshift into his own scythe, to a downright unfair barrage of clover-shaped bullets, Ragaeli revealed that his tail could multiply into three, which crackled with red sparks; They lunged forward and managed to ensnare the manic jester, slithering against his round belly and backs of his knees, even slipping one of his shoes off to entwine their prongs between his clawed toes.         "AIYEEE-HEEHEEEE UEE-HEEHEE NOOOHOHOHOOO-HEEHEE!!" The ticklish shock to his system surprised the jester enough that his head launched out on its spring coil, before retreating back for him to grab the ends of his hat and hide his flushed face and goofy smile.

        The Nightmare snickered fiendishly at his reactions. "What's wrong~? Surely the court-appointed master of laughter can handle a little tickling?"         The playful taunting just flabbergasted the thrashing imp all the more. Not because he hated it; but because he, the clever jester with an unholy amount of magic energy had never been so easily bested by something that wasn't a physical fight... And on some level, it was thrilling. It felt so good to laugh with such passion; Real, true laughter, instead of a hollow imitation of happiness. Being unable to focus on anything but their game, on the consequences of each other's "attacks", took his mind off the dreadful, existential thoughts that plagued him, and made him think that maybe, just maybe, there was more to his and this world's existence after all...

          But in the meantime, it was his turn, and he was ready for revenge. He poofed himself out of the nightmare's tendrils and re-appeared underneath him, turning his scythe into a rubber mallet to send Ragaeli flying up near the ceiling. He smiled wickedly, summoning a barrage of attacks that started to morph into vaguely hand and feather-like shapes. With a clap of his hands, they rocketed up to the Nightmare, burying into his belly, ribs and armpits, slithering down the wide collar of his leotard, trapping his ankles into cuffs so that they could saw between his toes and whirl against his soles like fuzzy sawblades. The onslaught caused the monster to howl and screech with hysteria, thrashing and swatting at the symbols in vain. "GYEEEE-HEHEHEHEHEH WHY Y-YOHOHOHOUUU-HAHAHAHA~!!"         Jevil giggled devilishly. "Uee-heeheee, what's wrong, what's wrong~? You're the Tickle Monster, are you not? Or were you lying all along? Can't handle being at the wrong end of your own fiendish plot~?"         Ragaeli snarled in his laughter, attempting to swat at the jester with his tails. "GRAAHH-HAHAHAH SH-SHUHUHUHUT UHUHUP YOU L-LIHIHITTLE-!!" And yet, despite his protests at the unbearable attack, the Nightmare's laughter, too, resonated with excitement and elation. It echoed through the vast cell, emanating with such unbridled joy and wild abandon that it stirred something inside of Jevil. Something...Warm, and oddly reassuring. And finally, from the depths of the jester's scrambled mind, memories started to return to him...

         He once knew laughter as well, and more than that, making others laugh. The four Kings, laughing at his antics in the court; young Rudinns and Jigsawrys and a baby Clover, all laughing gleefully at his dazzling displays of card symbols, dancing ribbons and fireworks. The dancers in the halls laughing as the court jester pulled prank after prank on the uptight dolt Rouxls Kaard. The Spade King, telling him how eager he was for his son to be born, so that Jevil could teach him how to spread joy through the kingdom. And Seam, his dear friend, letting out a rare gem of laughter whenever he said a silly joke or snuck up on the wooly cat and tickled his sides...

         Before long, Jevil's magic was no longer set to kill mode; a fact that wouldn't have affected the reality-bending Nightmare made of laughter either way, but others caught in the crossfire would no longer be in danger of a "game over". His will began to shift, and now his projectiles were imbued with the overwhelming urge to make their target crumble into a heap of elated laughter.         Perfect. Ragaeli grinned gleefully, snapping his fingers and poofing himself out of the hold of the magic symbols, standing to face Jevil, folding his arms behind his head. "Well now, seems like something's getting through to that polyvinyl noggin of yours--"         That brief moment was all Jevil needed to re-appear behind him, lunging to rapidly scribble his fingers and prod his tail along Ragaeli's belly, snickering to himself. "You so easily let your guard down!! I thought I was the clown!!"         "GYAA-HAHAHAHA!! TH-THAT WAS ON PURPOHOHOSE!!" Ragaeli slithered his pronged tail up to scribble against Jevil's 'neck' and pointy ears, sending him flying back on his spring-coil with a yowl.

        Jevil wasn't sure how long their game went on. Minutes, hours, days? Time never meant much of anything in his personal freedom; But now, he never wanted it to end. If those three adventurers did ever come back with the key, this would be quite the sight to walk in on...         Before long, though, the jester's 'attacks' were weakening, and his large tongue hung out with panting breaths; it became harder for him to levitate, or to tap out from the tickle monster's ruthless attacks; Ragaeli could sense his growing fatigue and eventually stopped, letting Jevil collapse to the bouncy floor.

        "H-Hee-hehehe...That was fun, fun!! But enough is enough, you tired me up!" He giggled, but his grin turned to a pout. "But I don't want to sleep yet, I still want to play with everyone, everyone..."         "Ohh, I think that can be arranged~" Ragaeli's hand sparked and crackled with magic, making Jevil instinctively squeak and flinch. But he shook his head. "Hehe, don't be worried~ This will give your energy back." But he closed his fist and extinguished the magic. "But hear me out first. If you play to take away everyone's HP, they won't want to play with you. They'll just put you down here again."         Jevil snorted and folded his arms. "Well at least I wouldn't be caged in their prison again, again..."         Ragaeli could still sense negative thoughts plaguing his mind.

Not real. Meaningless. Trapped. Just a game. Not wanted, not needed. Afraid of me. They'll leave me again, again. Seam will leave me again.

        At the very least, these thoughts weren't as loud as before, and were being dulled by the hope that perhaps he could be welcomed back by everyone... Ragaeli narrowed his gaze and snuck his hair tendrils over to prod along his round belly and sides again. "UEEE-HEEEHEEE!!" He rolled over to the other side, hiding his flushed face again.         "Heheh, come on now, no need to hide that face every time I get a laugh outta you~" He managed to tug the jester's hat off, revealing short, dark curly hair and a small pair of horns. Jevil gasped, his eyes going wide and he reached over frantically trying to grab his hat back. "HEYY!! Just because you forgot yours doesn't mean mine's up for grabs!!"   Ragaeli chuckled. "Relax, you'll get it back, if you listen to me first. There's no use letting those thoughts get in the way of your fun, now is there? Even if you live your life 'confined' with the others, at least you'd still have playmates, right? You still have the chance to make amends and show your friends you're not going to let your story end. ...See, now I've been hangin' around you too long. You're turning me into a natural poet~"         The sulky jester couldn't help but snicker. "Even if I did, even if they want to be my friend, I can never see this world the same way again, again..." He trembled. "The vision, the prophecy... The skies will darken, the world will crack, the calamity will sweep away all in it's path...No matter how many broken bonds we try to mend; Whether we play or flee, everything will end!!" He choked back a wail, hiding his face in his palms, his pointy ears drooping back.

        Ragaeli rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, scratching his head thoughtfully for a moment. "Look; Of course things aren't gonna be the same. Of course things end someday. That's the point of LIVING!" The Nightmare barked and jumped up, causing another loud THUD as he stooped over on his haunches like an agitated mountain lion. "You change and you grow and you LIVE, despite how tiny or messed up you think your existence is. You CHALLENGE anything or anyone who tries to tell you that you can't find your way outta that dark tunnel. Fake? Real? Who CARES?? You're HERE! Your life is only meaningless if YOU choose to live it without meaning!!"         Jevil peeked out from under his hands as the deity ranted. He then scoffed, taking his tail and fiddling with it as he avoided Ragaeli's eye contact. "That's easy enough for you to say. Your existence, your world, isn't made to be a game for OTHERS to play."

        Ragaeli calmed down a little, patting his hair sympathetically and tweaking one of his horns. "Listen, Jev-In-The-Box. You're right about one thing. You can't change the circumstances that brought you into being. And sometimes, that really sucks." He frowned. "It sucks for those little mortals who have such little control over the society that keeps 'em prisoner. And even for someone like me...I can't change the fact that I come from a world that wouldn't exist without mortals. Any Nightmare can disappear in the blink of an eye if they aren't remembered by enough people."         "Really..??"         Ragaeli nodded. "That's why some of 'em try so hard to be remembered, even if it means playing with humans like cats torturing mice before they eat 'em. And I can't make them value life. But I also can't let them freely roam the world that imagined us up, or reality as we know it would fall apart. I can't even stay in other timelines or realities too long or I risk fading away for good."         Jevil listened curiously, a hint of a concerned frown crossing his face.         The deity shrugged. "So I just make the best of it, y'know? I have fun showing other people that their world isn't as small and hopeless as they think." The thoughtful expression left the entity's face as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a devilish grin. "So YOU had better not let me catch you moping about in those gloomy thoughts of yours again," he poked Jevil's plush belly, making the jester squeal and bat his hand away. The Nightmare snickered. "And if I see you trying to end other people's game instead of finding ways to make laughter and excitement a part of your reality... Then I WILL be back, and I'll show you what it really means to be ticklish~" He narrowed his gaze and cracked his knuckles loudly, his body emanating with an aura of electric energy, his hair tendrils raising into the air like cobras poised to strike, wriggling their fingers and forming into bristles.

        Jevil shrieked and quickly scrambled back. "YEEEP-!! ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALREADY, I GET IT I GET IT!!" The jester first pouted at being told what to do. But something about the strange monster's words...Felt to be true.

        Ragaeli chuckled, his hair calming back down. "Of course, that doesn't mean there's no fun to be had in a bit of harmless chase," he flashed a devious grin. "You can make them pay, without making them go away, so that way you can all play again and again~ The eventual catch can be the best pay-off of all~"         The implication of the tickle monster's words started to sink in. A Grinch-like smile started to spread across the imp's face as terrible schemes came to his mind. He could play a game of 'Surrender' with anyone, anytime, and they wouldn't have to lose their HP over it. It could be one big game of hide-and-tickle, or tickle tag, or a test of endurance, or another way for the King to interrogate outsiders about Lightners...         Sensing that his thoughts had changed their tune, Nightmare gave him back his hat...And transferred a surplus of magic energy fueled by laughter, adrenaline and mischief to replenish his strength.

        Jevil gasped as if surfacing for a breath of fresh air, then giggled and sprung to his feet. "Fine, you've won me over, I hope you're happy! But I think we'll have to wait until the Lightners return with that key. Once they do, I'll wreak havoc in that boring little prison of theirs and this Joker will be the one to have the last laugh~!" He giggled fiendishly and rubbed his hands together, bouncing impatiently in place.

        Ragaeli smirked. "Hehe, no need to wait for a key. Prisoners break themselves out all the time, so why not just break in~?" He hopped over to the door, grasped his large hand around the bars, his hand emanating with crackling magic again... And the lock popped open with a click.         Jevil went slack-jawed. "Wowee!! You really are strong! I can't even best Seam's magic enchantments at full strength!" he then cleared his throat. "That isn't to say I couldn't have broken in all along. I just didn't want to is all," he shrugged and stuck his tongue out. "So now it's time to say...SO LONG!!" He cackled maniacally and shot like a bullet out of the door.

        When he flung himself from inside the cell, he saw the three travellers from earlier, now gawking up at him incredulously.         "W-What the-?!" Susie and Ralsei's eyes went wide.         Jevil instantly pounced them, rapidly bombarding them with scribbling fingers, rapid pokes and his tail slithering between their limbs. Shrieks of startled laughter answered him, even from the quiet, stoic one. They were too preoccupied with trying to flail away to notice the jester snatch the key out from under their noses. As soon as he had it, he stopped and hovered above them.         Susie panted for a minute. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!!" she snarled, brandishing her axe.         "H-How did you get out?!" Ralsei questioned. "I thought you needed the key??"         Jevil merely answered with a wild grin, focusing his power in his hands until the key sparkled and crackled with his magic...And shattered into hundreds of tiny shards. Without another word, he rocketed up the winding stone steps, laughing incomprehensibly.         "WH...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Susie shouted.         "I don't...think that was supposed to happen..." Ralsei scratched his head through his hat.         Kris just shrugged, and Susie grumbled. "We went through all that shit just to get the key and he didn't even NEED it!! I'm getting real damn sick of this stupid castle!!" She pounded the handle of her ax into the ground, huffing loudly.         Ralsei frowned. "Well, don't worry about him. I think it's time we go find Lancer, yeah?"         At this, Susie calmed down a little, sighing. "Yeah, you're right. We've kept him waiting long enough. Some mystery prisoner isn't any of our damn business."

        It was already too late, regardless of whether the heroes tried to go after him. The jester's second reign of chaos was swift and sudden. He ricocheted through the castle, his manical laughter echoing through every hallway, his bursts of magic visible like fireworks in the distance, his devilsknife and his magic attacks shapeshifting into other "weapons" like giant featherdusters, scrubbing brushes and makeshift hands. At first the guards were horrified that the infamous prisoner had escaped. But once they were reduced to shrieks of laughter and pleading and apologies, and Jevil declared victory before bee-lining to his next target and eventually leaving the castle, the denizens of the Darkner world were left flabbergasted, nervous, and perhaps even amused and curious to see if this "dangerous criminal" would return for more...

        Ragaeli watched the commotion smugly as he started to fade back to his realm. "Oh dear, it appears I've created a monster~"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        You make your way back down the elevator and stairs. You double-check your items, use the save point, and....         What the hell? The dungeon door is gone! Is this an easter egg of some kind? Did the game glitch out? You check your items again... The key is gone too.         Okay, something must be wrong. Before you make the decision to replay the whole game just for the hidden boss, you head back to Seam. Maybe talking to him again will re-trigger the events needed for fixing the key?

        But when you go inside the "Seap", it isn't just Seam anymore. The secret boss, Jevil, now has a full sprite, grinning gleefully at the player.

        [ * UEE HEE HEE, WELCOME, WELCOME LIGHTNERS! SO SORRY WE DIDN'T GET TO PLAY, PLAY. MAYBE ANOTHER DAY! ]

        You talk to Seam first, triggering his usual dialogue about how Jevil ended up in the dungeon, and how the heroes would eventually have to face the Knight. And, interestingly, an additional bit of dialogue explaining how the heroes just missed Jevil's "escape", and how his reunion with his old friend was filled with a great deal of laughs...         Talking to Jevil afterwards brings up more dialogue. You ask him how he got out of the dungeon.

[ *YES, YES, I SUPPOSE I SHOULD EXPLAIN THAT KEY. I HAD ANOTHER STRANGER COME TO ME! ]

[ *BUT THIS ONE DID NOT MAKE ME FEEL SO AIMLESS. IN FACT, HE SHOWED ME THAT I WOULD HAVE MADE QUITE A MESS! ]

[ * THIS MAY ALL JUST BE A GAME, AND YOU... YES, YOU OUT THERE...]

        His sprite momentarily came closer, his yellow irises seeming to bore right into you through your screen...

[ * -MAY HAVE MORE SAY IN WHAT RIGHTS WE CAN OR CANNOT FLAUNT. BUT I THINK, EVEN IN THIS PRISON, WE CAN STILL BE HAPPY, HAPPY, AND PLAY AS MUCH AS WE WANT! ]

[ * WHO IS REAL, AND WHO IS NOT? I DON'T THINK THAT MATTERS ANYMORE, ANYMORE. ]

[ * THAT SILLY RED MONSTER, WHO LAUGHS AND LAUGHS AND REMINDED ME THAT THIS WORLD DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A BORE...]

[ * THE STRANGE WORDS HE SAID HAVE STUCK INSIDE MY SPRINGS. NOW MY VIEW ON THIS WORLD HAS BECOME JUST A LITTLE LIGHTER... ]

[ * AND I'M CURIOUSER, AND CURIOUSER, TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS~! ]

[somenewsarah]

Not Funny

Requested: Yes: “hey could you write a draco imagine where the reader and draco get into a fight and she’s giving him the silent treatment and is purposely avoiding him in classes and everything, fluffy ending please!! :) love your writing!!”

Pairing: Draco x Gryffindor!Reader

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff with some fighting

Word Count: 1.9k

Sirius Black looms in the air like a dungbomb. Hogwarts hadn’t been the same all term long, not with the dementors lurking around all your hideout spots on the edge of the grounds. It had especially put a damper on your relationship with your Slytherin boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. You two were like magnets from the moment you first meant. He was drawn to you, and you to him, like none other.

Although, his obsession with his nemesis, Harry Potter, was getting out of control. You never really liked it when he would pick on him, and his growing obsession was getting incredibly annoying. You would never say anything about it, though. Well, you never thought you would.

Quidditch is the only light that seems to be glowing now. You shuffle towards the pitch with your fellow Gryffindors, today being such a big game for the House Cup. It was Gryffindor against Hufflepuff, and the infamous Harry Potter was going up against Cedric Diggory. If Gryffindor wins, they only need to beat Slytherin to win the cup.

“I’m sure Harry is nervous,” Hermione says, clutching at her rucksack.

“Blimey, I can’t imagine having someone out to kill me, but still trying to play Quidditch,” Ron murmurs. “Bloody brilliant.”

“He’ll be fine,” you say absently. You peer around the other Gryffindors at the sea of green that travels in front of you, but you don’t see your blond-headed boy. “Have either of you seen Draco?”

“No,” Hermione huffs. She was the only one that ever stuck up for your relationship with the Malfoy boy, but she made it very clear that she didn’t really approve of it.

“Probably off trying to get Sirius Black into the castle,” Ron hisses.

“Bugger off,” you snap. “Draco would never. At least give him some more credit than that.”

“He’s mental!” Ron exclaims. “I’ve never seen someone hate Harry as much as Malfoy does.”

“Well, Harry hates him just as much, and I find that it’s not really any of our business,” Hermione says, crossing her arms.

Together, you climb up the tower and find your seats in the middle of the bleachers. It doesn’t take long for everyone to get settled, and soon, Madam Hooch is blowing her whistle and the game begins.

The day is gloomy as 14 brooms rise into the air. Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain, looks menacing as he takes his place in front of the three goal posts, back arched and at the ready to block any quaffles.

 Harry and Cedric have a brief showdown, but it’s soon interrupted by the scene below.

 “Katie Bell for Gryffindor has the quaffle and is in control from the very beginning of the game! Amazing that girl is. Should really consider- Sorry professor- GRYFFINDOR SCORES, 10-0!” Lee Jordan, a fellow Gryffindor, announces.

You crane your head, your eyes trying to focus on nothing but the game, but your attention continuously averts to the Slytherin students, looking for Draco, or even Crabbe and Goyle. But they’re nowhere to be found. Only Pansy Parkinson glaring at you across the pitch.

“Harry Potter has seen the snitch! Wow, what a brilliant flier that one is! If he caught it, Griffyndor would win 40-10! A new record for them,” Lee shouts into the mic.

You watch on, and indeed, Harry was soaring above the game. He looks down at the ground, following the snitch, and you follow, trying to see it for yourself. But instead, you see something much scarier. Dementors. Harry seems to have noticed them, too. He shoots a spell, and a wispy stag leaves his wand. But what it met wasn’t dementors at all. No, McGonagall’s face pales in sheer fury as she pulls off the hoods of Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

 ~

“Please don’t be mad, it was just a dumb joke,” Draco says, pleading with you for what felt like the millionth time.

“It wasn’t funny,” you say, trying your hardest to remain calm. You tuck your feet under your legs, sitting in one of the oversized chairs in the library, your head stuffed in your Herbology book. “Just leave me alone, Draco. I’ve had enough.”

“Y/N, please,” he says, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.

 “Go,” you demand. Your eyes finally meeting his own. He straightens up, runs a hand over his slicked-back hair, and nods once, finally leaving you alone.

 His silence didn’t last long at all, though. Oh no, it didn’t even take a full twenty-four hours. The very next morning in your Potions class, Draco takes his seat at the table next to you.

 “Good morning, love,” he says cheerfully. “Over our spat yet?”

 Scoffing, you get up quickly and move to sit at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, abandoning Draco altogether. This went on for the entire day, but by the seventh and final hour, you didn’t even sit at your usual table, insisting that it’s just easier to sit with your actual friends.

 “Thanks for sticking up for me,” Harry says to you at the end of the lesson. “I think it’s really great of you. I know it isn’t ideal, especially that your boyfriend hates your best friend.”

 “Yeah, well,” you start, shoving books in your rucksack. “You hate him just as much. You’re not as awful to him as he is to you, I’ll give you that, but you still assume some awfully untrue things about him.”

And with that, you sling your bag over your shoulder and march out of the classroom, heading to your dorm.

~

It’d been a long week, and you still didn’t know where you stood with Draco. Sometimes you felt like you might be ready to forgive him, others it felt like he never really changed.

Today is your first trip to Hogsmeade since coming back from Christmas a few weeks ago, and you were more than excited to visit Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks. You weren’t particularly excited to visit alone, but Fred and George were going, so maybe it wouldn’t be so awful after all.

 You walk in the snow, kicking the ground a little with the tips of your boots, when Draco catches up to you.

 “Can we talk?” He asks, his eyes full of hope. “I miss you.”

 You keep your eyes on the ground, ignoring him completely. You just weren’t in a place where you were ready or willing to talk without it all blowing up in your face, so you keep quiet, trying your hardest not to look over at him. You always give in to those grey eyes.

 He sighs, but doesn’t push his luck. He pushes forward, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets and walking farther out of your sight, catching up to Crabbe and Goyle.

 “Are you alright?” Hermione asks, moving to walk next to you.

 “Yeah, this is just really annoying. Why can’t they just get along?” You ask, running a frustrated hand through your hair.

 “I don’t know,” Hermione says, shaking her head. Ron moves to walk with the two of you, but smartly keeps his mouth shut about the situation.

 Hogsmeade managed to cheer you up loads. Your pockets were more than emptied, but you were fulfilled with your purchases. Chocolate frogs, bottles of butterbeer, and Zonko’s trick wands lined the insides of your bags, and you thought you might find yourself in a sugar coma if you ate anymore.

Walking towards the common room, you notice something unusual and red on the floor. Upon further inspection, you find small rose petals between your fingers. You follow them up Gryffindor Tower and all the way to the Fat Lady.

“The new password for you, my dear, is the place where you had your first kiss with Mr. Malfoy,” she says, her cheeks rosy, and a small giggle escaping her lips.

“Oh,” you sigh. “Can’t you just let me in with the usual password?”

“It’s romantic,” she snaps. “Now, the location?”

“The Astronomy Tower,” you say, trying to suppress your own smile. You feel your cheeks heat up as the portrait swings open. There is no chatter from the common room like there usually is, but instead soft music.

You walk inside, following the rose petals on the floor. Inside, each wall of the common room is covered in your favorite flowers. One side is roses, one is daisies, then tulips, and finally, orchids. Draco stands in the middle of the room, holding a bouquet of sunflowers and baby’s breath.

“Draco,” you sigh, moving to stand in front of him.

“I need to say something,” he starts. You move to speak, but he shushes you. “Please, let me say it before I chicken out.”

“Go on,” you say, covering your mouth with your hand to hide your own grin forming. His cheeks are pink, and his eyes dart nervously.

“I picked out these flowers because not only are they your favorite flowers, but because each of them remind me of you. Roses, because your cheeks always turn this perfect shade of red when I kiss you, or tell you how much I adore you. Daisies, because I’ll always remember our time together this past summer and how you’d wear daisies in your hair, and how beautiful they looked. Tulips, because that perfume you wear drives me crazy and they smell the same. And orchids, because they remind me how, even though you’re so strong and sturdy, you’re still delicate and beautiful and the things that I do can really effect you. And for not realizing that, and for being a jerk to one of your closest mates, I’m sorry,” he says, finally looking up at you.

 You uncross your arms, taking a step towards him. “And the sunflowers?”

“Sunflowers are your favorite flower. I know that. And because you are my sun, Y/N. No matter where you go, I want to be looking at you. You’re the sun, in this situation, and I’m only a flower, following you wherever you go,” he says confidently. He reaches up, caressing your cheek with the back of his hand.

You smile, wrapping him in a hug around his neck.

 “This is so beautiful, Draco,” you say, hiding your forehead in his neck. “Thank you so much.”

 “Does that mean I’m forgiven?” He asks, fingering your hair softly.

 “Yes, I think it does,” you smile up at him. He leans down, kissing you gently.

 “Why baby’s breath in the sunflowers?” You ask, finally looking down at the bouquet.

 “Oh, is that what they’re called?” He asks, looking quizzically down at the flowers in his own hand. “I just thought the green stuff went well with the yellow. Had a lot of help from my mother.”

 “I believe it,” you giggle. “Seriously, thank you for taking me seriously.”

“Always, my love,” he kisses your forehead. “From now on, I’ll try to be more pleasant to Potter. No more stupid jokes.”

“Alright,” you nod. You move from his arms, sitting on the couch in front of the fire, breathing in the aroma of all the flowers. “Stay a while?”

He sits next to you, pulling you into his arms once again. The two of you spend much of the night together, unbothered in the Common Room, laughing and talking, and filling each other in on the mundane events that happened while you weren’t speaking. Draco fulfilled his promise for the rest of the year, and kept his comments to Harry light, and for that, you would always be grateful.

[heartbreak-of-a-marauder]

Through the Rabbit Hole (2)

Part Two: The Trickster

Pairing: Loki x fem!reader

Summary: You give Loki a piece of your mind for New York and its fall out, but things aren’t as you thought.

Word: 2,335

Notes: Angst +++ Weirdly had a lot of fun writing this part... y/n = your name, y/h/c = your hair colour, y/e/c = your eye colour, b/f/n = best friends name. If you haven’t read part one STOP NOW and go do that:

<- 2 ->

~*~*~*~*~

New York, 2012

It was the penultimate day of your week-long holiday in New York and after days of sightseeing and shopping, you were glad to finally have a rest day. The restaurant you and your best friend picked today had a fresh but quirky vibe and your window seat gave you a fantastic view of the New York skyline. You chatted happily with b/f/n as you waited for your food to be served.

“Will you take a picture of me y/n?” b/f/n asked, both of you had saved for this trip for so long, at every opportunity you were taking pictures to remember these moments forever.

“Sure,” you pull out your phone and aim the lens at b/f/n. “Move slightly to the left, you’ll have Stark Tower in the back then.”

B/F/N followed your instruction and scooted over slightly. You grin as the camera focuses on your friend, you just knew they’d be bragging about for weeks. You snap a couple of shots before repositioning the phone for a different view, your thumb hovers over the button as you see a beam of blue light shoot into the sky from Stark Tower.

“What the heck?” you say absently, lowering the phone to stare out of the window, your friend turns as well to see what you’re looking at.

Other patrons in the restaurant also begin to notice just as an ink-black cloud begins to brew, expanding with supernatural speed; distorting the sky. Your frown deepens as when dark specks begin to fly out of it at speed. Some break off, heading in different directions in small arrow-shaped formations. Some specks explode as the descend, others are firing purple beams of light, you rise out of your seat not 100% sure that what your seeing is real.

You are so close to the window that your breath frosts the. One of the purple beams makes contact with a space a few floors above you. The glass shudders violently while the building moans in protest.

“What the fuck is that!” b/f/n shouts. Your stagger back thinking the same thing.

“Get away from the window!” you shout, panic rising in your chest as more shots connect with the building.

A woman behind you screams as a serpent-like creature descends from the cloud, its shrill shriek makes you cringe.

“We need to get out now,” b/f/n turns back to look at you, their face frozen in fear. You nod robotically, your eyes never leaving the window.

The world around you seemed to slow as the specks got closer, firing shots at random. You look back at b/f/n, screaming their name, reaching out for them just as the glass behind them shatters spraying the room with shards. The force of the blast throws you backwards. You crash onto your back hitting your head against the concrete, the force of the impact knocks the breath from your lungs as your vision swims. Dizziness and nausea assault you as you try to move, looking desperately for b/f/n. Dark spots dance across your vision when you finally locate their face. Their eyes are wide, and unblinking, a red puddle slowly expanding around their head.

“B/F/N?” you whisper just as everything goes black.

Today

You had woken up in the hospital a day or so later to learn that not only was your best friend dead but that Loki had led the attack. You had always wondered why he had attacked. What had happened to the gentleman you had known to become so twisted and spiteful that he was prepared to rain hellfire down on humanity.

But now, here you were, six years later, stood in the same courtyard you had first met Loki all those years ago. It hadn’t changed in the slightest, except this time there was no one waiting for you. The quiet made you feel out of place and unsure of yourself.

Now you were here you didn’t know what to do. Loki was probably incarcerated deep in the heart of the palace.

‘Good. Lock him up and throw away the key.’ You thought

It had taken a lot of courage to go back through that portal but now you were here you knew it was somewhat of a wasted journey. If you were discovered you knew you would likely end up in the dungeons too, after all, no mortal was supposed to be able to travel to Asgard.

Determination settled deep in your bones, you knew it was unlikely that you could give Loki a piece of your mind but that didn’t mean you couldn’t give it to someone else. Someone higher. His father perhaps.

You made your way out of the courtyard retracing your steps from memory, everything you passed looked the same as when you had last seen it. Loki had only taken you to certain parts of the castle, always making sure to keep you out of sight of other Asgardians. You stopped in the middle of a crossroads of hallways with no idea where you were supposed to be going.

If you were to be caught by Palace guards they might take you to the Allfather.

Turning around you went back the way you came until you found yourself with your nose nearly touching the doors to one of Loki's favourite places; the library. You tentatively place your palms on the ornate doors, there was bound to be some decrepit old librarian lurking about in there. But you made no effort to open them.

You struggled against the memories that began to seep into your mind, happy memories of the hours you and Loki spent in this room as he read to you.

"Y/n?" A voice whispers incredulously from behind, making you jump out of your skin.

You stand frozen for a moment, the sound of his velvety voice bringing back long-buried feelings. Remembering why you came you let your anger and grief swallow them up.

Turning slowly you face Loki. His hair had grown but he looked the same as last time you saw him. His porcelain skin and chiselled features hadn’t changed, but his chest seemed broader and his carefree demeanour was gone.

‘Of course, it’s gone, he’s a megalomaniac’

He wasn’t the same man you had fallen in love with, you had wondered if he had ever been that man or if it was just one of his tricks.

“Loki.” Your voice is cold and distant.

“You came back,” disbelief echoed in his voice. “I never thought you- it’s been years, I thought I would never see you again.” He admitted shyly, sounding almost hopeful.

You kept the anger and upset you felt in the forefront of your mind and let it bloom hotly in your chest. It would help with what would come next, you couldn’t allow yourself to feel anything different, you owed it to b/f/n not to forget.

“Yes, well, New York nearly made sure that I would never see anyone again.”

He baulked at you. Guilt and shame gnawed at his insides and a slight sadness took over his once optimistic expression. He had endured anger from Odin and disappointment from his mother with relative ease, but seeing the hurt he had caused in you very nearly broke his heart. The venom in your voice began to poison the hopes and daydreams he had conjured of you during your absence.

“You were in New York?” he asked quietly avoiding your eyes.

“Along with someone I loved very dearly.” You snap, emphasising every word.

“I had no way of knowing-“

“Bullshit!” you hiss.

“You never came back. I had no idea where you had gone.” His expression was stoic as he defended himself.

“You led an invasion party against us! Conquering New York would’ve just been the beginning and you know it!” You shout incredulously and watch Loki cringe as he understands your original meaning.

“The attack was a mistake I shall never stop paying for…” He admits quietly after a while. The sincerity in his voice was unprecedented. “… Forgive me Y/N, never in my wildest dreams had I imagined you would be hurt because of my foolishness.” He had taken a careful step towards you.

Hot tears burned your eyes and blurred your vision. You blinked quickly willing them away, he did not get to make you feel guilty for your words. You had come back to Asgard with a plan. You didn’t have time to be overcome by silly teenage emotions.

Yet there you were feeling overwhelmed by the man stood in front of you, the speech you had prepared was being forgotten with each passing moment.

“Keep your lies and excuses for someone who actually cares Loki.”

“Silver-tongued I may be, but I have never lied to you Y/N.” His stance shifted to one of defence, he had been stung by your words.

“How can I believe you? Why would I believe you! You set out to destroy my world, you murdered hundreds of innocents in the process.” Your breath comes out harder as you go on. “You should be rotting away in a cell for what you did, not walking around like some dandy, but I suppose because you’re royalty it's okay because daddy’s there to defend you.” You say spitefully.

“Why did you do it? You’re a fucking Prince, you had the world on a silver platter! What? Did you get bored, is that it?” you ask rhetorically. “Did mummy and daddy not pay you enough attention?” your intentions are cruel as you aim to hit a nerve.

Your thoughtless comments and accusations raise Loki’s hackles and in two long strides, he was toe to toe with you. So close you could smell him.

“I had my orders.” His voice was harsh but strained, your brows knit together as you process what he had just said.

Orders? Someone had sent him to attack earth? Why?

“So what! If someone tells you to stick your hand in a fire pit, you do it?” You try to regain the upper hand in the conversation knowing that if you let him speak, you would listen. “What backwards fucking logic is that?!”

“The kind that keeps you alive.” He hisses down at you.

There it was; the crack in his beautiful façade. He sighs heavily and just like a deflated balloon his shoulders sag and he drops his head. His forehead just a hairsbreadth away from yours.

“They threatened to kill you if you didn’t go through with it?” Your previous vehemence was gone, an unknown expression flashes across his face

“I have paid for my treachery.”

“Loki, who-“ Your press.

“‘Who’ does not matter anymore little one” he diverts.

“Of course it does, what if they try again, we-we need to be prepared.” You speak hurriedly, remembering the terror you felt in New York, you drive your hands through your hair, pulling it at the root.

“No.” There’s a tone of finality in his voice.

“What do you mean ‘no’? Loki, who sent that army? If you’re here you can’t know that they won’t try again!” the muscle in his jaw ticks.

“Your precious avengers have proved themselves ready and worthy of dealing with him, you do not need to worry little one.”

“Stop changing the subject!” you cry exasperated. “I was there Loki! I saw those things and what they did.” You place your hands on his chest willing him to pay attention to what you were saying.

“You don’t need to worry-“

“Loki,” you start, preparing to launch into another rant but he cuts you off.

“Enough y/n! Please…” his voice sounds broken as he begs.

“What did they do to you?” You ask softly.

When he doesn’t reply you begin to remove your hands from his person when he reaches up and captures your wrist, holding it against his chest. His grasp sends heat through your veins inviting your teenage fantasies in. You knew that deep down you still harboured feelings for the God, and all of these revelations had your defences crumbling.

“You don’t need to know little one.” His tone is as soft as yours had been and his smile sad.

The sound of footsteps and metallic clinking bursts your little bubble as you both remember where you are stood. Keeping a hold on your wrist he begins to drag you through the Palace, you glance around and realise you’ve never seen these parts before. You have to jog a little to keep up with his pace.

“Loki, where are we going?” you ask breathlessly, pulling against him trying to slow his pace.

“Somewhere a little more private little one,” for the first time you frown at his old pet name for you.

“No.” you state resolutely, pulling your arm out of his grasp.

“y/n now is not the time nor place for this.”

“Either you start talking or I start shouting again.” He glowers silently at you. “I came here for answers Loki, not for a friendly little visit for old times sake. I’m not some hormonal little girl that’ll eat up everything you say.” You cross your arms over your chest.

“There was a time you would’ve done anything I asked y/n.” You feel heat begin to creep up your neck and settle in your cheeks.

“Yes, well, you made your feelings about that quite clear though, didn’t you.” You deflect, desperate for him to not see how his comments affected you.

This time he took hold of your hand, linking his fingers with your own. When he pulled you into motion it was slower this time, allowing you to walk beside him and not have to fight to keep up.

“I always thought you were going to come back.” He admitted after a while.

You shrug in response.

“I missed you.” He adds quietly like he’s afraid the words will make you disappear.

You had come back, he didn’t much care for why anymore. He simply knew he would do anything to make this moment last.

~*~*~*~*~

TAGLIST: @jessiejunebug @seventieshead-modernlover @kinghiddlestonanddixon @danielle101370

[lady-divine-writes]

The Prince of the Sea and his Child of Fire (Rated M)

Summary: Blaine is a water sprite, prince of the undersea kingdom and sole heir to the throne. Five days away from turning seventeen and his big coronation, he decides to take a journey to the surface, to seek out a legendary flame said to be tended by an evil witch. Instead of a witch, he finds something else entirely …

Kurt is a fire fairy, prince of a race of fire fairies and heir to the throne. Five days away from turning seventeen (on the night of a full solar eclipse when he will transform and become king), he sees for the first time in his life a water sprite - a member of a race that he’s been raised to hate.

What will happen when these two mortal enemies fall in love? Is there any way for them to escape destiny and be together?

Notes: This is inspired by the movie ‘The Sea Prince and the Fire Child’, which itself has elements of 'Romeo and Juliet’ and other tragic love stories in it. However, it isn’t a word-for-word retelling. As a child when I first saw the movie 'The Sea Prince and the Fire Child’, a lot of it bothered me. There were things that the characters did that I thought were ridiculous, and I didn’t like the way the story ended. So this is me fixing all of those problems and telling the story the way I want it :) It’s a re-write of another story I wrote for a different pairing a while ago. It’s complete, and I will be posting a chapter or two a day. I hope you enjoy.

Read on AO3.

Chapter 1

“Psst!”

“What?”

“Psst!!”

“What!?”

“Come on! Hurry up! We don’t have all night, you know!”

“If I can’t keep up on your little adventure, maybe we should both stay home then.”

“Not a chance. Maybe a tiny bit of jellyfish venom will get you moving.”

“You … wouldn’t … dare!”

“Ha! Try me.”

A face peers around the smooth edge of a wall. Golden eyes shimmering with bioluminescence pierce the surrounding shadows in search of guards.

“Is the coast clear?” a hushed voice echoes too loudly in the cavernous hall.

“Shhh!” the first escapee snaps. “Yes, but you’re going to wake the whole castle if you don’t learn how to whisper!”

“I know that,” the second escapee whines, huddled beside his friend.

“Then stop talking!” is whispered in a hiss that can be heard for miles.

“Ugh! I don’t even want to do this, Blaine!”

“Well, we’re gonna, Trent! And I don’t want to hear another word about it!”

Blaine grabs his friend’s hand and drags him around the corner. Sticking close to the wall, they sneak down the hall. It’s woefully dark, lit only by a shaft of soft blue light, courtesy of a mob of phytoplankton congregating outside the castle windows. The two friends spiral up and up a rarely used tower of the west wing to a cramped turret obscured by a growth of coral. Out through the open window they swim, throwing anxious looks over their shoulders until the castle is completely out of their sights, and the fugitive water sprites reach the open ocean.

“We shouldn’t be doing this!” Trent says, tossing a few extra glances back. “If your father finds out we’re gone, he’ll send the royal guard!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Blaine mutters, “he’ll be super disappointed in me. So what else is new?”

“Well, maybe. But I don’t need him angry at me, either!”

Blaine chuckles. “Are you scared of my father, Trent?”

“Yes. Dreadfully scared. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

Cutting through the water, the two sprites swim, passing schools of fish that decrease in size as they make their way up to the world above – a place no sprite dares to go.

Trent stops just below, but Blaine breaches the water’s surface and looks around, searching out the fabled lick of fire burning in the darkness of the wood. He narrows his eyelids and peers through the veil formed by the interwoven tree branches and the moonless sky until he spots it - a yellow and orange drop dancing magically on a branch hovering inches above the water.

Blaine smiles. He reaches down blindly, grabs Trent by the hair, and yanks him up out of the water.

“Owwww!” Trent groans, but Blaine turns him roughly toward the light flickering in the darkness.

“Bingo.” Blaine releases his struggling friend and claps him on the back - hard enough to make him cough - before paddling his way toward the fire.

Trent follows close behind, not wanting to be left alone where any manner of animal can swoop down from the trees and swallow him whole. “Are we really going to do this, Blaine?”

“Yup,” Blaine answers without turning to look at his frightened friend.

Trent’s swimming slows as his body trembles. “Why again?”

“We’ve heard legends about this flame our entire lives! Don’t you finally want to see it? With your own eyes? Once and for all?”

“No, I don’t. Not particularly.”

“Why ever not?”

“You know why!” Trent argues. “They say these woods are haunted!”

“Of course they do,” Blaine murmurs. “That’s how they keep us in line.” He continues treading water, barely listening. He reaches a log jutting out that blocks his path. On the other side of the log, he sees a small pool surrounding the light, blocked off from the sea. From this distance, he can see the flame just fine. But there’s something else he’s searching for.

“Blaine!” Trent snaps, realizing he’s being ignored. “Th-they say that the fire is tended by a hideous witch, and that the flame is kept lit by the bones of water sprites who got too close and were eaten alive!”

Blaine rolls his eyes. “Oh, please! Do you still believe those stories, Trent? Look at yourself! You’re a grown sprite, a member of the royal court, personal advisor to our kingdom’s one and only prince. How can you still believe in ghost stories?”

“B-because some ghost stories are t-true,” Trent stutters as a chill breeze blows past, whistling through the leaves.

“Jeez, Trent. If you’re going to be such a baby, why did you even come?”

“You didn’t give me a choice!” Trent yells, Blaine’s arrogant comment making him forget all thoughts of evil sprite-eating witches. Blaine clamps a hand over Trent’s mouth and holds him still, both sprites staring wide-eyed, willing whatever might be lurking in the shadows to stay there.

A mouse rustles the underbrush as it scurries through the leaves. An owl shrieks over their heads, causing them to duck, submerge up to their chins. A moment of silence, and then a tortured squeak as the mouse is carried away in the owl’s deadly talons, joining the monstrous bird for dinner.

Blaine’s hand drops away from Trent’s mouth.

“B-besides, you n-need me,” Trent stammers unconvincingly. “I’m s-sworn to protect you.”

“So how come it is I spend so much time saving your sorry behind?” Blaine shakes his head and leaps over the log, landing with a gentle splash in the water on the other side.

“Wait!” Trent calls. “You saw the fire! Isn’t that enough? Can’t we go home now?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?” Trent whisper-yells to the prince’s back. “Why not yet?”

“Because we got this far. I’m going to go find myself a witch!”

“No, Blaine!” Trent sinks his fingers into the soaked log, his arms shaking. “No! Come back!”

Trent’s pleas are lost to the wind and the bowing trees as Blaine swims closer and closer to the crackling flame. The fire lures him to it. It sings him a song both beautiful and heartbreaking. It fills his eyes and his mind with its music. It leads him from the safety of the water to its light.

Blaine has seen hot things before, in places beneath the ocean where volcanoes pour their lava into the water. Beneath the sea, it blinks red for an instant, then turns hard and black forever.

But this flame has a soul. It has life.

It wants Blaine to become a part of it.

He reaches for it, the heat drying his skin even though he’s nowhere near close enough to touch it.

“Blaine!” Trent continues to yell, but Blaine doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about friends or family or life or his kingdom beneath the sea, as long as he has this flame in front of him.

Singing him lullabies with its mystical voice.

Something steps out from behind the fire and blocks his view. A sardonic, “Hey!” gets locked in his throat when he sees a pale body materialize. Blaine has sense enough to drop down into the water, but he keeps his eyes glued to the spot where a figure dances, twirling on tip-toes, arms waving in the air, feeding the fire with petals and leaves until the light dances with him, higher and higher, touching the sky.

Blaine squints against the blazing light so he can see the figure more clearly.

His mouth drops open.

“A fairy!” he breathes, watching as it twirls with eyes closed, fragile wings of silver fanning the flame, turning pink as they catch the light. The fairy faces the fire, singing (and Blaine now realizes that it is this fairy’s voice he was hearing – high and otherworldly, carried on the wind) and Blaine dares to emerge once again.

The fairy seems about Blaine’s age, and has a head of brown hair – the shade of autumn chestnuts and turning leaves. He is shirtless, the muscles of his back throwing shadows back and forth over his smooth, pastel skin. The play of shadows fascinates Blaine, as does the line of his spine – so straight and so strong, probably earned by hours of flying. Blaine sighs. What it must feel like to fly – to be free to travel the skies and into the clouds, to leave the world and all of your responsibilities behind.

Responsibilities that Blaine feels pile on top of him every day, more and more, threatening to crush him dead before he even has the chance to live.

Sea King at only seventeen.

The thought leaves its bitter tang on his tongue.

Some sprites would see it as the ultimate honor, but for Blaine it’s a trap. Which is why he took this trip to the surface – his one and only trip, since the moment he is bestowed the mantle of king, he will never be allowed to leave the sea. Not that sprites actually can leave. His own father, the most powerful creature below the waves, has spent an eternity under the water, and to Blaine’s knowledge, has never once been on land.

Never once looked up at the sky.

Blaine’s father didn’t have dreams. Or if he did, he stopped dreaming them long ago.

The fairy stops singing. He turns his head to the side, ears pricking up at a faint sound. Blaine drops beneath the surface before the fairy’s eyes sweep his way, sighing in relief that he managed to get away before he could be spotted. He peeks up, letting the tension of the water hold him under as long as it can before he breaks through, but the fairy is gone.

Blaine turns his head side to side, frantically trying to find the mystical being. He goes still and holds his breath, waiting for the fairy to emerge, but there is no sign of him. He couldn’t have been a hallucination, could he? A trick of the light?

No.

He was real.

He drew Blaine out of the water and led him here. He may be made of magic, but that hypnotic creature was definitely real.

Blaine creeps up higher. He looks into the fire, but the fairy dancing around it has disappeared.

“Hey!” he calls out. “Fairy! Where are you?”

“Blaine!” he hears Trent call, trying to keep his volume low but on the verge of panic. “What are you doing!?”

Blaine waves him off. He doesn’t need Trent scaring the fairy away. He wants to coax the fairy back out and then hide again. He needs to see that vision once more before he leaves and never returns.

“Fairy!” he yells, braving a move closer to the flame. “Hey, fairy!”

The flame, all but forgotten by the brazen sprite, flashes brightly in Blaine’s eyes, filling the cove around them with its radiance. Blaine screams, throwing his arms up to protect his face, but the light endures, growing brighter. It turns white, breaking through every gap, weeding into every space. Blaine is blinded, knocked hard into the water, and sinks like a stone.

“Blaine!” Trent calls from his hiding place behind the log. “Blaine!”

When the flash disappears, Trent looks into the secluded pool, but the prince is nowhere to be seen.

“Blaine!”

Trent throws himself over the log and into the water, heedless of the fairy or the fire, and swims down with all speed to the spot he last saw his friend.

From behind fire, back to being a softly crackling flame, the fairy peeks his head out and watches the two figures dive beneath the inky water.

 ***

“Blaine!” Trent turns a full circle, alarmed at being in this strange water alone. It’s too dark, too quiet, brimming with some kind of enchantment that Trent feels prickling along his skin. “Blaine! Where are you? Blaine!”

He spots the prince’s limp body below him, falling through the water, heading down to a trench – a black, bottomless void cut into the ocean floor. Faster Blaine falls, his unconscious body pulled by denser water. Trent swims at full speed after him, beating his arms against the water, trying to keep up. Trent gains on him when Blaine slows, reaching out an arm to grab him, but Blaine swirls out of reach as a current sweeps him away, dragging him further under and fast. Trent kicks his legs furiously, feeling the invisible pull the nearer they get to the gaping hole, as if hands are reaching for them … icy fingers closing around them …

“Blaine!” Trent screams, putting on a burst of energy, a last desperate effort that will either save Blaine or doom them both.

But it seems that whatever god protects water dwellers is siding with them today. The current stops dead and Trent grabs the sea prince under the arms, kicking with all his might to take them far from the fissure.

“Urgh! I’ve got you, Blaine!” he says as he fights up through the water, heading back in the direction of their underwater kingdom. “Don’t worry, your highness! I’ll get us home!”

[itsbuckysworld]

Merry Heist-mas

Secret Agent!AU

in which Bucky’s heist– I mean, intel retrieval mission, is unexpectedly hijacked by the always lovely, never not witty Y/N, his fiercest rival agent.

Agent!bucky x Agent!Fem!reader

3K words

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I was literally was laying in bed when the random thought of HEISTmas instead of CHRISTmas crossed my head and i was like ok i have to write something with that title before the year is over so legit this was born because i just had to use that title for something, anything. 

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gifs are not mine.

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The satisfying crunch under the weight of Bucky’s tactical boots was like music to his ears. The harsh of the winter was always good for these types of missions. No self-respecting bad guy would have too many a guard outside braving the cold, which meant that Bucky seemed to be the only armored bulky man with a red nose lurking around the stylish building.

Easy, perhaps too easy, but for the moment being Bucky wouldn’t question it. He had spent too many days in the shadows studying just the structure of the building, and if he could avoid having to switchblade his way in, my, would he take that.

Like a choreography he swiftly made his way up the side of the intimidating wall, making it to the modern-looking glass ceiling with a smirk and without a sweat. He shook the snowflakes from his hair and turtleneck, disposing of the scarf. If he had it his way, the room that awaited him would be toasty warm.

A nice pop and the glass window was open, and with a tug he had secured the metal hook around the framing, sliding his body down the rope like any good James Bond would. Movies didn’t get that part too wrong.

Soft feet landed without trouble. The room dark and musky. Moonlight cascaded in, dressing the floors in shapes from the statues littered around the room. Just another museum that hid some bad guy’s lab in its depths and Bucky would unveil its secrets.

He took in the art around him as he ventured further in. A long red curtain framed a huge painting on the wall of some renaissance ball, and some random vase exhibit was decorated with Christmas lights that blinked on and off. There were mistletoes on almost every door.

Bucky searched down the halls, trying to spot any obvious entrances to whatever secret lair was hidden behind the walls of the space. He eventually found it. A large painting of some castle was slightly askew.

He squeezed his way in through the small gap that opened as he moved the painting aside. Funny, they forgot the mistletoe on this little entrance. 

The walls were now covered with some steel plates, bolted shut and secure, surely hiding webs of wiring. This part of the building was suddenly cooler, blue-ish lights illuminated his path, and his silent steps echoed, the clank of cold metal under his heel. 

It took him a second to decipher where the slight beeping was coming from, as he made his way down corridors with his back pressed to the walls. He peeked over each corner, a hand securely resting over the knife that was hidden in a pocket at his hip, next to another pocket that held a taser. Silent but deadly. 

One last turn down a darker hallway and he had reached it, the computer center. He approached it while looking back. With no one behind him, this would be so simple. He kneeled down and opened one of the lower pockets of his pants, retrieving some nifty device Sam had given him prior to the mission. It was a little box with a display of 6 numbers, connected to a bunch of cables with different sized connections. He found the one that seemed to fit the side of the keypad by the door and with a simple click of a button and a turn to the wheel on the side of the box, the display showed four zeros and the door hissed as it slid over allowing Bucky entrance. 

“I’m in” he jokingly muttered under his breath. 

A row of lights and buttons and keyboards sat in the middle of the room, overviewed by an array of monitors that displayed the different areas of the museum. Blind spots, guards on their post – luckily all of them on a different path than the one Bucky used to sneak in and would use to eventually sneak out – and covering every angle of any precious piece. 

He swiftly typed on the keyboard, thanking the heavens Natasha had spent so much time explaining to him how to hack these simple systems. He would have never made it to the level he was at had it not been for her helping him finish his all-around agent training. An agent who can’t hack easily should not be in the field for these types of missions, and that would be a bummer since these are sometimes his favorites.

A click here and a click there, a blue loading bar showing up on the screen, and now all he had to do was wait. 

Bucky’s mind wandered for a brief moment as he spun around once on the chair behind the control station. He thought about what he would have for dinner when he eventually left the place with a USB filled with delicious intel. If he wasn’t too tired, maybe he could make his famous lasagna for him and – he noticed a black blur on one of the monitors.

Eyes squinted, trying to catch a better glimpse of the lump through the greenish hue of the screen. It looked like a body. And he felt the edge of a knife pressed to his temple. Nerve endings all over his body lit up. He’d been caught? But how– Oh... Oh.

Bucky scoffed and chuckled darkly. His tongue found a home in his cheek. 

Much like the silence outside and the lack of guards inside on his way to the secret room, something was amiss, and Bucky had had a long month of non-stop missions, so his tired brain hadn’t made any connections or even worried about piecing things together, but now? Now, as he could actually feel the presence behind him and the cold tip of a knife to his head, it all made perfect sense. 

“Merry Christmas, Barnes” Bucky smirked at the sound of the very familiar voice, and immediately after the confirmation of his suspicions, his body relaxed back into the chair. 

“Nice of you to join me, Sticky” The nickname made him receive a growl in response, just like always, just like old times. 

“You mean nice of you to join me –“ with force, she spun him around, a hand resting on the back of the chair as she leaned in over him, looking at him straight to the eyes, knife now used as a pointer and poked slightly to his chest with every other word – “Where are your manners, Barnes? What would your Ma’ say if she learned you reaped the fruit of my hard labor taking these guys out and didn’t even say thanks” Her tone was mocking, but Bucky had to ask himself when wasn’t it. 

Well…

Another chuckle escaped his lips, and Bucky found himself raising his hands in an apologetic sign. His eyes flickered towards the screen. Transfer at 80%

“My bad. Thank you, my dear, where would I be without you?”

She took a step back and pocketed her knife. Bucky took this moment to eye her up and down. She was wearing the leather tactical suit this time around, he always wondered if it was more comfortable than the other two designs he’d seen her wear before – the dark camouflage one with belts over the chest was his favorite. Admitting to this to her had earned him more than a handful of glares and punches to his shoulder in previous occasions – but he wouldn’t complain. After all, it allowed her to take out all the bad guys and clear him plenty of space. She harrumphed with crossed arms.

“You’d be dead, that’s for sure. Which doesn’t sound half bad” Sitting in front of her in that power stance – oof, what a sight. Bucky couldn’t help but smirk. She scoffed and kicked his shin lightly, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

“Aw come on, Stick, you’d miss me, admit it” 90%, just a little longer. Not that holding banter with Y/N was any hard task. 

Bucky and Y/N go way back. She became a field agent around the same time he did, and the agencies that hired them are rivals in almost every sense, making them coincide in more than a hundred missions. 

At first, it was annoying, not only did Bucky had to worry about the bad guys, but he also had to race Y/N for the same objective more often than not. Although he couldn’t lie, the competition was probably the most fun his job offered. It was fun to keep up the action, to have an extra challenge, someone to one-up. And on the off chances when their objectives weren’t the same, it wasn’t hard to team up with her. And they made a very, very good team. 

100%. Her eyes glanced towards the screen in a flash, before they lay upon him again. She smiled at him. Bucky leaned forward, his hands placed calmly over the armrests as he returned her grin. Game on. 

“Well, I assume you’re also here for the intel...”

“It’s a shock you became an agent with such slow deducting skills, Barnes” Y/N rested her body against the console, half sitting up on it while she unsheathed her knife once more and flipped it around in her able fingers. 

“Slow, maybe…” Bucky paused, letting silence and suspense linger.

In a swift motion, he was on his feet, using the force to hop over her body and, anticipating her flip to meet him, he put his hands up, blocking the down slash of her knife and expertly slapping it out of her hand. He reached to the side and yanked the USB out of the console, but before he could turn around and leave, Y/N had ducked down and with a side sweeping kick, she had made him tumble down on his knees, the USB rattled out of his hands and sliding away from them. 

It took Bucky a beat longer than Y/N to be up on his feet and on the run towards the small memory stick. She had swooped it up before he could, and Bucky did the first thing he could think of and lunged at her. 

The two of them rolled on the cold metal floor, bodies fighting to be on top, hands squeezing to try and pry the USB off the winning hand. At some point in the struggle when Y/N held onto the device, Bucky had taken out his knife, but before he could do any harm, Y/N had his arm twisted behind his frame, causing him to drop the blade. Bucky bent down, flipping Y/N over his body and pushing her away from him, making her drop the pen-drive. It clattered as it slid away from them.

Pause. Bucky and Y/N looked towards the USB, watching it slide away. Bucky’s hair flipped over his face as his head flipped back to look at Y/N. Their eyes met, and another smile was shared between the rivals. 

Almost as if rehearsed they sprung into action. Bucky was sliding on his knees before Y/N could register it and he held onto the USB expertly. Once up on his feet, it was another sparring match for the history books. A punch here, a slap blocked there, kicks and pushes, grunts and tricks. 

Losing the upper hand, Bucky reached around Y/N’s body to try and grab the little stick, but she held it out of his reach. The resemblance to kids fighting over the TV remote was too much not to cause a chuckle to escape Y/N’s lips. 

A deafening alarm surprised the two, and their heads turned towards the closed doors to the hall they were in, approaching footsteps echoing in the distance. With a quick glance around the room, the pair of agents realized the havoc they had unleashed upon the room of valuable art with their fighting antics. 

“Oops,” Y/N said comically “seems I didn’t get all of them”

Bucky used the moment to slap the USB out of her hands and into his, pocketing it in a compartment of his suit on his chest, before she could act. Y/N growled but didn’t attack him. It wasn’t the time. The alarm continued to blare. 

Surviving first, sparring with Bucky later. 

The two split to avoid gunshots as the doors opened, revealing the guards. Whether they liked it or not, it was time to work together if they wanted to get out alive. Bucky sprinted towards them, grabbing random vases from the exhibit and chucking them the guards’ way. As they focused on him, it gave Y/N time to run around and knock out two of them from behind. 

Bucky held onto that red curtain from before and swung himself, kicking a non-suspecting guard in the head and rendering him useless for probably a week. 

More footsteps approached and both Bucky and Y/N took off in the same direction Bucky had come in. It wasn’t time to sit back and knock out every guard that came their way. No matter how good of a team they made together, they weren’t that amazing that they could take on who knows how many guards were headed their way, alone and without heavy weaponry.

They entered the room that Bucky had first entered when he infiltrated the museum and together they tried to close the heavy double doors as bad guys approached. Before closing them completely, almost like mirrored images, Bucky and Y/N pulled out their reserve knives, chucking them at the guards that were closest. With a loud bang, the doors were closed and the two of them pushed a statue in front of it. That should do it for about... 6 minutes they reckon, enough to let them escape. 

“Second knife huh?” He said, huffing and puffing from the exertion. Y/N gave him a smile, holding onto her side and trying to recover her breath. 

“I guess I should thank you for not using yours until now” Y/N sighed, pushing back her hair as she approached the rope Bucky had left after his entrance. The perfect getaway. She tugged on it, testing its hold. 

“Likewise” Bucky’s hand was over hers on the rope as he stepped closer to her frame. She looked up at him with soft eyes and a shy smile. He really liked it whenever she looked at him like so. Turned him into mush. But that was always, really. 

“Believe it not Barnes, I don’t actually want you dead. How boring would my life be?” Bucky smiled at that. She shook her hand from underneath his and placed it on the nape of his neck. Standing on her tippy toes she pressed her lips to his. Bucky sighed, melting into the kiss and the familiar embrace. Her hands wrapped around his frame as the kiss deepened. Able fingers dancing over his shoulders and chest, clutching all they could as his hands worked to push her closer into his frame. 

He separated from her with a grin, feeling empty the second she was an inch away “You’d miss me too much, admit it” His lips caressed hers as he spoke, a hand on her chin, keeping her close to him and with her face arched to his. His long lashes kissed his cheeks, and she loved looking at him, admiring his features up close like this. It gave her more butterflies than her first-ever field mission.

Biting her lip to suppress a lovesick smile, she nuzzled her nose to his. She didn’t see herself ever tiring of kissing him. Thank heavens for these types of missions. Stepping back, she hooked the rope to an electric piece on her belt that would rise her up the cable automatically. 

“I’d miss you too much.” she said, blowing him a kiss. She started swiftly lifting away. Bucky held onto her hand for as long as he could, letting her go up and escape the museum first, eyes too busy taking her in. She gave him a wink. When she was a whole body away from him she spun a little stick around her finger. “Oh, and thanks for the intel, babe”

Bucky’s eyes widened when he made out what she was flipping around, a hand immediately shooting up to the pocket at his chest. Empty. 

“...You- Wow, Sticky, what would your ma’ say, stealing from a man like that” Bucky tsked, shaking his head in mock disappointment. Y/N chuckled, head thrown back and everything. Bucky’s smile only widened. He loved making her laugh, probably just as much as he loved her. 

“Oh hush, she did teach me how to share, y’know?”

“Does that mean I get to see you later?” This made her snort. 

“Dork.” Y/N had reached the top and climbed up and over the metal edge of the ceiling, taking her time moving the glass cover out of the way so Bucky could get out quickly and just have to slide it right back in. No sign of them ever being there… Well, other than the obvious. 

“See you at home, sweetheart” He couldn’t really see it but he knew she had winked at him at his words.

“Merry Christmas, Buck” He heard her say before her figure disappeared into the night as she made her silent escape. 

Bucky remained there, looking up after her with a stupid grin across his face. They really did make a great team in every sense of the word. He bit down on his lip, hands placed on his hips. How had he gotten so lucky to have found her? 

He thinks maybe he has to give credit to their agencies for being such fierce rivals that they would go out of their way to put their best agents against each other in missions. He just loved thinking back to when their banter started, all those years when they were fighting each other over targets and their obvious sexual tension. 

And then the first time they worked together to achieve their different objectives, rather than trying to beat the other –

A loud bang brought Bucky out of his thoughts. His eyes flickered to the door, noticing the statue that was keeping the guards out had moved, and the doors were slowly being opened. Soon someone would be able to sneak through the gap. 

Right. Escaping first, seeing your fiance later, Barnes. 

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Sorry for such a long piece, hope that’s ok!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this piece and my little Agents. 

Please, remember that feedback is literally what feeds a writer’s motivation to continue posting their pieces, and it takes two seconds. I read every reblog, reply, tag, and you can always message me or drop anything in my inbox – feedback or whatever else really. I’m open to talking, always.

[mrneighbourlove]

Evil’s Bane: Ch 7. Entering the Tower

Darkness was all around them. Along with a petrifying smell. They couldn't hear any sounds, not even in their own heads. It was as if time had stopped to entrap them in a pocket of hell. As long as this feeling of isolation and disgust lasted, their release was just as quick. The jaws of the serpent spat out the contents it had swallowed, quickly retreating back into the water from which it came. Leere's vision was incredibly blurred, and she gasped for air as she felt the earth beneath her. It was hard on her left, yet soft on her right. A decomposed body perhaps? Finally, she remembered to speak. "B-Bonegrinder? Anyone there?"

"Leere!" Black exclaimed. "Thank the Mother Goddess! You've been knocked silly for a good while. And I can't move." He was currently trapped underneath one of Bonegrinder's massive coils. "He took the brunt of the landing and he's out cold. Think you can pull me out from underneath him?"

Leere picked herself up, grabbing Bonegrinder by his coil. With a deep breath, she dug her feet, clenched her muscles, and pulled. "Fat. Loath."

"... that's not going to work." Black managed to wriggle free his staff that was attached to his body strap. He rolled it over to Leere. "Use this as a lever underneath his coil. I'll help you push down to get my legs free. Tell me when you're ready."

"Ok." Leere grabbed his staff, ready to pry Bonegrinder off. "Ready? One three. One. Two. Three!"

Black gritted his teeth and managed to move his legs free from under his master. Luckily, nothing was broken, just bruised. A Wraith's body was trapped in a state of living and decay, so trying to heal a wound was a major problem. Wobbly on his feet, he then asked, "Are you all right?"

"I am." Leere looked around, seeing someone lift themselves from the ground. There was fog around them, but with Leere's vision getting better, she made out his outline. "Bi-Hanzo?" The man was holding his head, a little groggy from the landing. "Indeed. I think I see Kenshi over there. If he's alive I'm going to wake him up."

"I would summon some fire, but it smells like methane in here." Black coughed once at the smell. "So I am not going to risk that. Though, I can provide some light." The Wraith took off his head wrap that covered most of his face and head. One reason he wore it was because his hair floated in every direction and... he was actually a grey-blue from head to toe. Glowing. "This is a pain when you try to sneak up on someone."

Leere was surprised to be sure. Her small shock turned into a smile quickly. "I bet. You know, for someone between life and death, you're still a rather handsome man." She looked around to see Bi-Hanzo getting Kenshi on his feet. "Good. We're all alive. Do you think Bonegrinder can be woken up easily?"

"I will..." Black looked a little puzzled at her comment. "Take that as a compliment." He then glanced at his master. No wonder he was out cold. Evidently, he hit head first, snapping one horn completely off and cracking the other. "Give me a moment to see."

"Take your time." Kenshi was rubbing his head. Man lost his sword in the attack. "Where are we?" Bi-Hanzo patted him on the shoulder. "Stay here with them. I'll look around."

"Bonegrinder. Bonegrinder!" Black shook the Anagari lightly, not wanting to jar him further, but the situation was urgent. The huge snake did not move. The Wraith frowned and sighed. "I think he rattled his skull. It's going to take him a bit to heal. We should wait here. We do not know what this creature is and our surroundings."

Bi-Hano ran back just over the small hillside. "All of you. Come with me now, you need to see this."

Leere looked to Black and nodded. Walking with Bi-Hanzo, the moment they came out of the fog, they were stopped in their tracks at the sight. In front of them was the biggest castle they had ever seen. No, it'd be disingenuous to call it simply a castle. It was a massive city, with sophisticated architecture that linked everything together. The designs were incredibly Gothic by nature, with the very sky as red as blood in the air. Black clouds rolled over, and the air was dry to breath in. They didn't need to see eyes on them to know that they were being watched by at least something. The most impressive, or haunting piece of architecture depending how one viewed it, was a titanic tower. It kept spiraling up and up and up, far above the clouds themselves. It had etching in its stone that were large and deliberate as well. The entire city could be described as gothic.

"... I'm beginning to believe we should have left when Bonegrinder insisted we did." Black said very dryly as he gave Leere an annoyed glance. "Because that does not look very inviting."

"No. I agree with you." Bi-Hanzo let his clenched hands go. "This is center of all of the evil in Malus. Inferos. The serpent didn't need to kill us. It just wanted to bring us here..."

"... EXACTLY why we should have left." Black groaned aloud and then pulled Leere along back to Bonegrinder. "There's no way in hell that I'm leaving him and he entrusted the princess in my care. So, we will both wait here and I suggest you two do the same."

Leere was about to say something, when a shadow flew over them. Glancing to the city, she saw the monster from her dream perch itself on a tree. It was hard to make out in the shadows, but it was defiantly it. "You!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" As Leere tried to get up to follow after the shadow, Black snatched her wrist and yanked her backwards. "You can 'you!' it later, you can't go after whatever that was blindly!"

"That's what we came here to deal with! That's what threatened my family and Hyrule!" Leere tugged away, tightening the collar on her trench coat. "Killing monsters is what I do."

The two other Mortuus watched as Leere pulled away from Black and started walking ahead. Bi-Hanzo decided to take the lead for Kenshi. "I have no idea if we can return. But perhaps we can find the missing villagers here."

"Like my daughter." With hope in his heart, Kenshi ran after Leere.

Before running with the other two Bi-Hanzo looked to Black one more time. "You should join us. Before one of those monsters comes here."

"It's not a monster, Leere! Even if that... that..." Black swore under his breath. "Abomination is simply a host, it is much more powerful than you, than me, and even those two lunkheads combined! We cannot hope to defeat it unless we have Bonegrinder with it. And defeat... is a very strong word. Please, if you won't listen to Bonegrinder, then listen to me." He implored her. "We don't know the extent of what we're dealing with. Don't rush in without leaping and leave your family without a mom."

Leere stopped in her tracks, for only a moment. "I've stopped god like beings before. I know the risks." With that, she ran into the city perimeter. Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi quickly followed behind her.

As Black stewed with his thoughts on the matter, he heard a familiar galloping approach from behind. "Black? Is that you?"

While Black had agreed to keep an eye on the princess, there was no way he was going to leave Bonegrinder vulnerable and alone. The snake would probably bite his head off, not literally, but lecture him nine circles to hell when he woke up and found the princess gone. Though, the Wraith was shocked to see the Lynel. "Hades!!!" Black was relieved. "You're alive! We were worried for you!"

"I worried for you. It was a miracle I stayed alive so long. And your scent suddenly traveled so far north, I could barely keep up. Where is the Sage of Shadow?"

Hades looked down to Bonegrinder, parting the hair out of his eyes. He didn't look good. "What happened to you..."

"The all-wise sage decided to go on a wild goose chase after I warned her not to do so." The Wraith grumbled to the Lynel. "That woman doesn't listen." When he inquired of Bonegrinder, the Wraith frowned. "I think in the scuffle of this serpent inhaling us, he hit his head. I'm guessing a skull fracture since usually something like this wouldn't knock him out. It's just taking him a little to heal."

Hades looked into the city, shuddering. "Go find her. I'll stay here with Bonegrinder and get him awake. It's important that the sage stays alive long enough to not be killed by some mindless beast."

Black felt conflicted. "Are you sure? Two guardians are better than one."

"I'm ten times the guardian you are." Hades gave the Wraith a light grin. "Go. I'll use my magic to try and jumpstart his awakening. We'll be able to track you, no matter how deep you go into that city."

"Just because you're bigger, doesn't necessarily mean better." Black patted Hades' haunches. "I'm glad you're all right, friend. Please be safe while watching over Bonegrinder."

“I will.” Hades watched Black race off to chase after Leere. Placing a hand on Bonegrinders head, he channeled some magic and waited for him to awaken.

~

Leere was finding new ways to be surprised. Going through a large city block, she saw windy staircases that raced around towers, spiders traveling on rope sized webs, and water traveling upwards from a pond into a building. “Keep an eye out for anything.”

Black had hurried after the princess, but decided to lurk in the darkness. It was safer than way. Not to mention, in case Leere suddenly had an idea to run away from him again, she could not pin point where he was. So for now, he kept hidden, watching.

The Sage pointed the way for their target destination. “There. That’s our best option.” As they opened the door to the city gates, a deep stench swept through the area. On the other side was a mountain of corpses piled up. A half a dozen hooded Mortuus were gathering bodies when they saw the new comers. It was hard for the group to hide their presence with how creaky the city gates were. The other Mortuus paused, unsure in the present moment on how to act against the newcomers. That was when one pointed, letting out a horrific low-pitched howl. Leere could only make out the intense rage in their black and red eyes glowing slightly in the dimly lit area.

Some of the local Mortuus took control of a few of the corpses to fight Leere and her party. Another started to bled from her eye sockets, their body tearing itself apart in a transformation. In the city of Inferos, Mortuus who walked the streets were open to the unspoken rule of kill or be killed at any time.

Both Bi-Hanzo and Leere felt they couldn’t take control of the nearby bodies or destroy them at a will. So they resorted to other means. Leere took her scythe, cutting down zombified corpses that staggered their way towards her. The warrior of balance made his way to kill the casters directly. With no mercy, he froze bodies, shattering flesh apart. The Mortuus who was transforming had finished turning into a beast of fur and fangs. The Lycan charged at Kenshi, who was still looking for a weapon to use.

Other Mortuus in the area simply opted to flee. Not every one of them were so eager to throw their lives or spill blood. Leere and Bi-Hanzo were grateful that everyone who was watching them didn’t feel the need to attack. What neither enjoyed was the lack of control they could seize from the other Mortuus. Their zombies had their puppet masters, and they wouldn’t be taken away from them.

Black swore from the shadows and decided to get involved. Leere seemed to be a magnet for trouble when dealing with forces of darkness. Hades was at least right about that part. Kenshi was in trouble with that damn wolf, Leere and Hanzo were chopping up zombies, and there were monsters all around... Black was beginning to think Hades should have gone ahead instead of him. While the assassin was an excellent fighter, he was used to dealing with opponents one-on-one or very quickly, not in a battle setting. Though, he would do his best. Emerging from the darkness, he appeared in front of Kenshi and cut down the werewolf with a slice to its throat. Tossing Kenshi one of his blades, he instructed. "Don't lose it, kid."

Kenshi watched as the werewolf grabbed its throat, stumbling backwards. Gripping the sword, the Mortuus man took a breath as he ran forward towards one of the Necromancers, decapitating one with multiple swings to the neck.

Bi-Hanzo held no regrets about killing his own people. In fact, in his mind, these weren’t his people. The centralists were monsters masquerading in his flesh and skin. Turning briefly into a mist form he gracefully moved past the dead, killing the last of the Necromancer attacking them.

Leere’s blue scythe sizzled as she brought it to her side, a light sound vibrating in the air to cut the silence. “Black. Thank you for the assistance. Where’s Bonegrinder?”

"Hades is helping him heal." Black informed Leere as he walked around and remove the heads of all the corpses... just in case. "He survived. We both think Bonegrinder fractured his skull in that fumbling around. They should be catching up in a few minutes, I hope."

Hades? The cat had been able to follow them all this way so quickly? Strange, but Leere wasn’t going to question how he got here in the moment. “That’s good.”

Around them, in the buildings, other Mortuus were gathering to their window sides more and more. Even some curious kids. Finally, one of the residents spoke out. “Outsiders! Very odd to see a group of outer ring Mortuus who aren’t completely lacking in perpetration. And we didn’t know you had the skill to have a pet undead so stealthy.”

Leere tapped the staff of her scythe against the ground. “He’s not a pet, but a fellow traveller.” “Traveller? Ha! Who in their right mind would want to travel here?” Some of the residents laughed. Many held expressions of stone.

Bi-Hanzo shouted out to them. “Have there been other Mortuus from the outside taken here? Answer us!”

“Oh sure,” the resident smiled. This was the most entertainment she had in forever.

“They often go up there.” She pointed to the biggest on the continent. “But no outsiders ever leave the Tower of Death.”

“Tower of Death?” Leere chimed in. Seemed like a simple name.

“Of course. It’s a magical construct that is simply, ultimately, and in all its finality, death.”

"... pet?" Black scoffed with a role of his glowing eyes. "I am no puppet. More like a ghost than one of their ghouls." He then looked at Leere. "We're not going up into that tower without Bonegrinder or Hades. If my master's indication was correct, then this means that there is a possibility that Destroyer could very well be nearby."

“I absolutely agree.” Leere was scanning the eyes looking down on her. Up near her top left she saw a small boy tilting his head at her. When he saw that he had her attention, he waved to her. The Shadow Sage felt sad. This was no place to raise a child. What if she had to raise Joy like this? It deeply troubled her.

The resident looked shocked by Destroyer being mentioned. “No. Don’t mention his name. Terrible things always happen when he’s mentioned.”

The land was indeed as hideous as Bonegrinder had described it. He had no idea why anyone would want to live here. Those in their right mind wanted to escape. The others who wanted to remain were less than sane. Though, his master's words flowed through his mind: "friend or foe is not a question here". So... could these people really be 'good'? "Then would you rather me call him something else?" Black asked dryly. "One of his other names? Or Sir Divine Asshole?"

“It’s a case of never meet your heroes. Least for us that live on the lower levels. Death, madness and chaos has run rampant since they arrived.”

Kenshi let an angry shout out to them. “Don’t try to spin a tale of pity! You lot thrive on that! You dabble in evil magics!”

The resident snarled, a streak of fury on her face. “We do what we can to survive. Sure, we kill and betray sometimes do that, but we are still a community that bands together. Those that live higher want to the consume the whole damn world with their ambitions.”

Leere was about to say something, when a wailing siren was heard. At the far ends of each block, a deep fog was rolling in. Suddenly, all the residents were rushing to shut their windows. The lady talking to them pointed at the tower. “If you value your lives, run to the tower doors! I wish you luck!”

“Wait a second!” It was too late. Leere watched the last window close with the woman. In the fog, a massive tentacle reached out, scooping up a dog that was patrolling the food. With a whine the dog was taken into the fog, followed by a sickening crunch heard from inside. As the wet crunches echoed outwards, the Shadow Sage knew that they could easily be next. Leere looked to Black. The way to Bonegrinder was quickly cut off by the fog. It was like it wanted the group to enter the tower. “Black! We have to go!”

"... you know I blame you for dragging me into this, right?" Black snatched her wrist and started running at full speed. "Hold your breath. This is going to feel really cold." With a jump, he landed, sinking into the shadows below, pulling in Leere with him. He maneuvered around the tentacles through the darkness, zooming to the doors.

Bi-Hanzo and Kenshi, not having the same luxury, sprinted as hard as they could to the doors. They were made to be 30 feet tall, and need all of Leere and Blacks strength to open. “Pull your back into it!”

Black was throwing himself against the door, trying his best to get it to open. The only other option was to try to use the shadows to slide inside under the door... though, that would be difficult if he could not see where he was going. Just as it seemed the fog was going to catch up to them, Bonegrinder's huge coils slammed the doors open with one massive strike. The Anagari looked like hell. His horns were still damaged, his skin was scuffed, and he was missing several scales. Hades' magic had helped him heal, but his face was sunken and skin paling. It was obvious he was pushing his limit, despite Prama's influence. The huge Lynel was beside of him, unharmed for now.

The group of six ran in, with Hades closing the doors behind them as quickly as they opened it. With a loud bang, the doors sealed shut. Like it or not, they were trapped inside the black heart of Malus.

________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626094342071828480/evils-bane-ch-6-yield-to-damnation

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/626629526442655744/evils-bane-ch-8-looming-dread

[volganic]

Song of Communion (Redux)

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] || [AO3]

OH GOD OH MAN IM SORRY THIS UPDATE IS LONG OVERDUE but its so long in comparison to other chapters........... ty liz for always supporting me and telling me to keep every detail in here bc otherwise this wouldnt be half as long as it is

song is o magnum mysterium (and quite literally the song that started this whole au in the first place)

A high-pitched ring of steel meeting steel sang through the crisp autumn air. Both Volga and Link's weapons were locked together as they tried to overtake one another. In the passing months that Link had come to visit and train under the dragon's watchful eye, this was the first time they had traded blows. The Dinolfos chieftain that the Hylian usually sparred with (under Volga's supervision) stood on the sidelines.

Volga withdrew his spear back, only to thrust it forward again to breach Link's defenses. Having gone through these exercises time and time again, Link had expected it to withdraw and drew his shield up to block the lance from grazing his exposed side. He's thankful for moving it when he did — the dragon's raw strength was far greater than he had imagined; aimed to kill, unlike the Dinolfos who only struck to subdue. The force of the blow sent a shot of pain up through the length of his forearm. He grit his teeth and took a step back, ending their exercise to brace his right arm. He'd definitely feel that in the morning.

His partner lowered the spear and sent him an inquisitive look. Before a question could fill the space between them, Link brushed off any concerns he must've had with a dismissive wave.

"I'm fine! Let's continue."

Volga shrugged. If there's one thing he learned by mentoring him thus far, Link wasn’t like most people: where most people would have yielded and accepted their loss, Link recovered with a renewed strength and vigor. It was a commendable quality to possess. It also made him stubborn. Too stubborn sometimes, but someone else could be unfortunate enough to teach him patience and to pick his battles. He'd leave that to the poor woman general back in the castle.

Their feet moved together in sync as they circled around each other on the cliff side, their steps carefully choreographed to keep their attention on each other's movements while still mindful of the crumbling rocks beneath their feet, and easily poised to either strike or block  whoever dared to make the first move. Link desperately tried to ignore the bead of sweat running from the edge of his brow down over his cheek, but moved quickly to brush it away.

That was all the distraction Volga needed to suddenly lunge forward with his weight to strike. They fell into rhythm now: strike, step to the side, block, sweep, repeat. The dragon had drilled these movements into his brain. It took a lot of calculating than he was used to, thinking at least three steps ahead before the enemy while also keeping an eye for any openings or escape routes — this was only a friendly spar, but the danger of traps or ambushing parties was also something to keep a note on in the actual battlefield. General Impa would find it unorthodox and out of order by her methods, but it was far more engaging and befitting of a leader as grueling as Volga's system worked.

Link stumbled with a swipe of Volga's weapon nearly coming into contact with his ankle. He teetered off to the left, barely catching his footing on the edge of the cliff. Volga scoffed when the Hylian righted himself and poised his shield up, waiting for the next move.

"Scatterbrained today, aren't you?"

"No," he lied. His eyes averted away from Volga for only a second to see that the Dinolfos that lurked in the background was slowly stalking its way toward his unguarded flank. Have to move away from the edge of the cliff, he thinks, somehow catch Volga off balance, turn to keep both of the dragons in sight, overtake them —

— there's movement in his periphery from Volga's direction. Suddenly he felt a shove, and felt himself falling. There wasn't much time to react to such brute force, and even less to grab any of the rocks to keep himself from falling further down the cliff side. Volga stood on the edge, spear still in hand, and was growing smaller and smaller with each passing second. He tensed with realization. Stupid, he thought, stupid to think he could have trusted him!

His back slammed into something. It wasn't the ground, he knew that much. The impact still knocked the wind out of him, and before he knew it, he — they — were scaling their way back up the mountainside. The Lizalfos chieftain that acted as his safety net didn't seem too thrilled with carrying him back up to his master, but Link thanked the three that they still were looking out for him. 

Link was less than graciously dropped back along the edge of the cliff. The Lizalfos and Dinolfos chattered among themselves and retreated back into the caverns now with their duties completed. Now it was just him and Volga, left with an air of tension.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" It wasn't a question. They both knew that much. Link ignored the hand offered to help him up and pushed himself off of the ground, dusting off his tunic and brushing dirt off of his face. 

"You could have killed me!"

"Not my intention," he scoffed, "but there are others who are more inclined to do so." He clapped Link's hurt shoulder for good measure, smirking inwardly with the grimace he was given. The Hylian could pout and whine all he wanted. It wouldn't stop Volga from relishing in the fact that he toned him down another notch. 

--

"Are you sure you don't need any more weapons?" Link asked. In reality, he was genuinely curious, but he couldn't pass up an opportunity to poke fun at the dragon. Volga grunted dismissively in response, shuffling out of Link's way as he allowed the boy to wander around in the room. 

Today must have been something really special: not only was it the first time he had ever sparred with Volga, but this was also the first time Link was allowed in the center of the volcano — more importantly, it's where Volga kept his so-called "hoard". Maybe it was a tad naive of Link to assume Volga was the kind of dragon to collect all things that sparkled and shined, to have a room (or several) flush with treasures never before seen that piled to the top of the ceiling and threatened to spill over with its endless amount of secrets. The three chests that sat along the wall hardly looked like they harbored anything of worth. Blue eyes watched the dragon sift through one of the chests, and while it held a considerable amount of jewelry, it all looked extremely... tacky. 

What he was rifling around for, he didn't know. 

Link rolled his eyes and instead faced the walls of the cave. This, he believed, was the real treasure. Weapons upon weapons upon even more weapons lined the faces of the walls in an elegant and organized display. It was like being in a candy store! Not a single space was wasted, ranging from the smallest of daggers meant for tiny hands to the largest Goron-forged blades he had ever seen taking a place like a trophy. How Volga of all people managed to acquire them (or sweet talk a Goron into giving up such impressive armaments) was a question for another day; he didn't want to be pushed out so quickly after being invited in for the first time by prying too much.

He toddled over to look at spears undoubtedly meant for the Zora. A careful fingertip ran over the curve of the trident. "Is your spear like that of the Zoras?" he asked innocently, eyeing the gleaming silver hilt of a Zora spear next to the trident.

"Just because we're no longer outside does not excuse you from your other exercises, boy," chided Volga from the other side of the room. "Run through it again — and don't touch anything."

The Hylian swiveled his head to look at the dragon and object, finding that Volga's back was still turned to him. Alright, maybe he was a little predictable. Link pulled his hand away from the Zora weaponry with a huff and moved quietly to admire another set of miscellaneous weapons. 

əʊ   m æ g ʌ m   

A smile crept onto his lips as the words paired with his tenor rolled off his tongue so naturally. Though the translation of it was lost to him, such a simple activity like singing brought him an immense amount of joy, a sense of freedom — even if it were in the middle of the volcano.

m ɪ s t ə r aɪ ə m   

At least here in the caves, there was a sense of privacy that the castle could not provide — or as much privacy as he could get with the dragon or any of his kin within earshot. Better them than any of his comrades who would begin to question when and where he had found his voice.

Volga paused his rummaging to listen to how the notes reverberated off the decorated walls. Link took it as a good sign that he hadn't been interrupted by now and continued on, staying within arm's reach of the wall and running his fingertips along the rocks, trailing between the edges of many dangerous blades. 

i: t   ə d m ɪ r ə b aɪ l 

One sword caught his attention. It stuck out among the collection of other plain, familiar-looking swords that Volga had hung around it — swords he might have picked off from Hyrule's forces, no doubt. Its serrated blade nearly pricked his finger even with the most delicate touch. If its serrated edges weren't striking enough, the jewels encrusted from the center of the blade to the hilt and the four-pronged guard were enough to keep him interested. It was intimidating, but a beautiful blade.

Volga might not have been the kind of dragon drawn to every trinket that sparkled and shined, but Link was beginning to convince himself he might be that kind of person instead.

s eɪ k r e m ə n —

"Stop."

Link frowned. With a heavy sigh, he released the breath he had been holding to finish out the rest of the melody before he was so graciously interrupted. He tore his eyes away from the sword to face Volga who now stood in front of a closed chest, arms folded.

"What have I told you?"

The Hylian crossed his arms. "Don't touch anything—"

"Wrong." Volga paused and wrinkled his nose considering his words. "Perhaps I did also say that, but that is not what I refer to now." That earned him an eye roll from Link. "Need I remind you of the importance of the diaphragm?"

"Hylia, not this again!" groaned Link, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's always something with you, isn't it? Am I not good enough by your standards?"

"You're ever approaching it," he countered, "but you continue to move too much, and it carries in your voice despite how you choose not to believe it."

The dragon took three large strides to approach Link, planting his clawed hands on the captain's shoulders, adding an uncomfortable squeeze and pressure for an extra measure. Link grimaced again with the weight against his bad arm. 

"Like the core of your body, the diaphragm is a key component to—"

"'—to achieve a better quality of pitch, volume, and tone'," Link finished for him. It was obvious it wasn’t his first time hearing it before either. "'If your breathing is poor, it reflects in the singing', I know, I know."

"Then," Volga pressed his thumbs into the pressure points in Link's neck, "why do you continue to breathe so poorly?" His hands stayed locked in place as the Hylian crumpled in his hold, writhing and attempting to swat him away.

"Volga- ow- stop—!!"

"You should start by releasing tension in your upper body."

The dragon loosened his grip for Link to stumble away from him, a smug grin upturning his lips with the ferocious look he was getting. Link rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance.

"You're such an ass."

"I could say the same about you." 

Link shot him another glare through narrowed eyes and now turned his back to the dragon. He hasn’t decided whether or not it was a good thing that Volga was capable of being just as immature.

“Where’d you get this?” Link asked and pointed to the sword, desperate to change the subject. "I could use a new blade."

“We haven’t finished our lesson, boy,” he said. Link braced himself for another painful squeeze to his arm as Volga pulled him back away from the display. Instead — with gentle hands — he dropped a silver band encrusted with a round emerald cut into Link’s hesitant palm. It was far more elegant than the jewelry he had seen it mixed in with, more along the lines of what he had imagined Volga would be enamored with. 

Something in the back of his mind reminded him that this stone looked familiar.

"- song stone."

Link shook his head, breaking out of the stupor he didn't realize he was in by the stone glimmering against the light. "What?"

"It is a song stone," Volga repeated, having sensed Link's distracted mind. It definitely was an opulent accessory, if not the most dignified piece in Volga's hoard. But he wouldn't tell the boy that. "I think you are prepared to harness its power."

Another magical item. The Hylian knit his eyebrows together with some aversion. "Uh-huh." Even with the hesitance toward it, Link still slipped it onto each finger to find the perfect fit. It was a really pretty thing… The ring fit snugly around his middle finger, and almost looked to glow brighter as his hand moved around to catch the light. "And it can do what?"

"Amplify your gift, if the name was not obvious enough for you." Volga smirked from another one of Link's annoyed expressions and crossed his arms. "There are no limits on your vocal range with the power of the stone. After all, how else do you plan to command your army? Or perhaps even charm lost, weary travelers to their doom?"

The displeased expression on Link’s face quickly turned disheartened. "Volga, that's not funny."

"I am not trying to be funny. Jokes are another way of stringing up lies, and I do not care enough to lie." The dragon shrugged nonchalantly. "It is merely the reputation placed upon me, and if that is how they choose to acknowledge me, I have no interest in fixing it. If it keeps fools off of my mountain and out of my caves, so be it. If they choose to ignore it, I accept no responsibility for what may happen to them in my domain."

The words hung in the air for longer than it should. Link's eyes moved away from Volga's concealed ones to look back down to the ring. Even after all this time, the Hylian had never considered how he was one of the lucky ones — if not the only one — to make it out of the Eldin Caves alive. He had fallen for Volga's magic, to one of many of his songs, and yet here he stood, now learning how to wield it for his own greater purpose. 

He had never considered those who lost their lives to it.

Volga cleared his throat. He despised the tension that lingered between them. 

"Rumor has it that the stone you hold was forged from the same emerald safeguarded by the Children of the Kokiri," he said softly. Link perked at that and looked to him again, interested. "Whether that rumor is true or not, I myself cannot say, but I would be inclined to agree that its magic could stem from their songs." Uncrossing his arms, he tapped the jewel chained to his own chest with a clawed finger. "This jewel of mine not only does this contain the magic of my birthright, but it, too, is also a song stone, forged by the Goron Ruby."

Ah, so that's what that was. Link stared at it and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, idly turning the stone on his finger with his thumb. 

"Volga, I don't think I can—"

The faint echo of a Bulbin's horn traveled through the air, cutting Link off. That wasn't a sound he was used to hearing. The dragon perked at the sound, understanding its call. 

"I want you to have it," he assured, gently placing a hand on Link's pauldron. "I implore you to let go of whatever doubt you might have clouding your judgement. You've earned it. Come now, my friend!" His arm moved around to wrap around the other shoulder, pulling the Hylian even closer and ushering him out of the room. "The newest group of chieftains have returned with fresh kill, and the time to feast is now."

"Wait— wait wait wait-" Link squabbled, planting his feet on the ground, "did you just call me your friend?"

The dragon paused. Did he say that? His tongue ran along his teeth as his jaw shifted in thought, tasting the word in his mouth. Friend. All things considered, that was the best way to describe their relationship: more than strangers, more than acquaintances, neither enemies or allies — at least until now. Volga nodded once as if to convince even himself. "Yes, I did. It seems only fitting to say so, does it not?"

"You could have at least started by using my name first. You've never called me 'Link'!"

"Don't push your luck, boy," Volga chuckled dryly and tightened his grip. "Do not tempt me into changing my mind. I would like to arrive at my own feast on time, and your chances of getting that blade you've been gawking at are slipping away."

--

"Brothers and sisters!" Volga silenced the group of his kin who growled among themselves by pounding the end of his spear against the cave floor. The sound nearly made Link jump out of his skin. "Tonight, we are gathered here not only to celebrate the autumnal equinox, putting aside our struggles and hardship of the last season, but to also forge a path to better our future. I thank you," he gestured to the troop of the smallest Lizalfos in the cavern, "for this bounty you have brought us. You have proven your strength and honor to rise to the occasion, to rise as chieftains, and to rise as leaders for the next generation of our kind.

As we move on with the coming season of change, we too, must change." He beckoned for the Hylian to move out from behind him. Reluctantly Link did so, stepping to Volga's left and coming in view of the band of lizard kin. "Most of you are familiar with this human," he said, purposefully careful with his tone when referring to the boy, "and know he is not a threat to our clan. With that said..." he passed his weapon over to Link's unsuspecting hands. This wasn't something Link as prepared for, severely underestimating the weight of the spear and nearly dropping it. He was a deer in headlights, now put as the center of attention, all of the reptiles’ eyes fixed on him.

"Tonight, we also forge our alliance with this boy. Though we are that of a neutral party, he is our friend, and, like the rest of you, my chieftains, he has risen to the occasion with the spirit of a dragon and will guide us forward for the greater good."

"But Massster!" A Dinolfos rose from its perch in a rush, eyes darting between the boy startled in his boots and its master, "you said we do not like humansss! We kill them!" It growled in opposition to the Hylian when his expression hardened. Sizing him up, it took a step forward when Link slightly shifted a foot backward. "Thisss one is small and weak! Easssy to kill!" 

"This one could kill you should I allow him to take another step toward you," Volga hissed, clasping his hand above Link's on the spear. "Move one more inch closer and he will become a threat to you. He will remain on this mountain longer than you if you continue with your insolence, and by Din’s name, I will leave you to bleed out myself. Learn your place, hatchling." His words dripped with poison. 

The Dinolfos held its vindictive stare for a moment longer before recoiling back to its perch with a sad growl. Volga snapped his head to the rest of the drakes with a frown. 

"Any more objections?" They sat in silence; his decree was loud and clear. The Hylian himself was just as shaken with Volga’s outburst, thankful that he wasn’t on the receiving end of it this time. "No? Very well." 

Link was left to hold the spear alone again as Volga moved forward to the slabs of meat scattered about on the stone table in front of them, ruthlessly pulling a Moblin flank apart by the bone from the lot of the carcasses. Having been so distracted with seeing almost the entirety of the lizard tribe in one place and nearly getting into a dispute with one of them, the Hylian had nearly forgotten that this was a feast for them — everything was raw. 

His stomach turned with the sickening squelch the meat had made when the dragon knight bit into it, blood and juices painting the edges of his mouth and dripping down his chin. Hylia, why did he agree to do this?

Volga exhaled in bliss with the coppery taste of fresh meat on his tongue. A sense of accomplishment warmed his bones; this, he knew, was the right course of action to move forward for both his people and in Link's destiny. He swallowed his chunk of meat before turning back to the Hylian, expecting him to accept his offering. When he didn't, Volga snarled quietly; culture shock must have settled in and frightened the boy senseless. But why? It was only meat! A harmless, ritualistic offering!

A sideways glance showed the tribe of Lizalfos and Dinolfos stirring in their place, eager for their turn to devour their bounty. Being surrounded by predators….

To ease the boy’s anxieties, it seemed logical to appear less menacing in a cave full of dragons. Volga held the bleeding limb between his teeth, his hands moving toward the straps that held his helmet together. 

Link’s eyes widened; everything unexpected today snowballed into an avalanche all leading up to the dragon unmasking himself. His grip on the hilt of the pike made his knuckles turn white in anticipation. He was lucky enough to escape from Death Mountain more than once, but never pinned himself ever lucky enough to witness the dragon of the Eldin Caves without his helmet.

The pointed chin strap clattered to the floor.

Oh goddesses.

Oh Hylia.

A mess of ashen-colored hair spilled out from the edge of the helm and Link’s breath hitched in his throat. Again, it was naive to think that Volga was anything more than a monster after months and months of grueling combat practice and coaching his voice. Had it not been for the other’s tall height or the black markings that surrounded his striking green eyes that now looked through him, the dragon could more than likely pass for a human. The Hylian stood frozen in place, the same cold rush he had felt the first time he had entered the caves and been mesmerized by the dragon’s song flooding his veins; this time, it was the dragon’s appearance that mystified him.

It wasn’t until the spear was taken from his hand that Link finally tore his eyes away from Volga’s. Now his hands were bloodied with the meat that held more significance than to serve only as a predator’s meal. Despite the voice of common sense screaming at him to not eat the raw meat, Link finally nodded in acceptance and bit into the flesh, pushing himself to ignore the blood dripping down his own chin this time. The chewy texture was awful and the taste was worse, but he only had this one life.

Why not?

Volga, pleased with the acceptance of his offering, took a hold of Link’s wrist and held it high, turning them both to acknowledge the rest of the troop. The Lizalfos and Dinolfos sat at attention.

“For the glory of Din!”

The cavern came alive with a cacophony of the dragon tribe’s roars, fires burning bright.

--

The first few days after returning from the caves dragged on from the castle’s infirmary — partaking in a draconian feast was fine, so long as the meat wasn’t raw and bleeding. Healers pushed Link to drink one too many teaspoons of bitter-tasting yellow potion, easily unconvinced that whatever ailment plagued him was not “only a stomachache”. His stomach churned horrifically from the aftermath, but the reward outweighed the risk, all worth being accepted into an extraordinary clan.

A clan he couldn’t bear dragging them through a war that wasn’t their own to fight. 

Link eyed the Magical Sword from its place across from his bed. Its previous owner had already been unfortunate to cross paths with this Cia, this witch that was planning an uprising of unknown proportions — she, in turn, was unfortunate enough to cross paths with the dragon that pushed her back into her place of hiding. Maybe, just maybe, it was a good thing that she had run into him first.

How would things have been different if she didn’t? Link often wondered about the outcome more than he would care to admit. Would the war have been over by now? Would Hyrule be laid into ruin? Would he be able to keep the princess safe? 

His eyes fell down to his hand where his thumb had idly turned the stone around on its ring. 

Cia needed a general to start this war. If she had succeeded, would Volga have joined her?

“Captain!”

The sharp sound of knocking against his door jarred him out of his thoughts. The hero — now that he was back within the castle, he almost forgot he had a title to uphold — moved to open the door. The messenger stood stiffly in a salute.

“The General wants you to ready your mount and prepare to move out before sunset, captain!”

Link nodded once and saluted him off, shutting the door once he could no longer hear the heavy footfalls from the corridor. It was already mid-afternoon. There wasn’t much time before twilight would be upon them. He turned back to look at the sword. Better to use it now than later. 

Without a second thought, he secured his newest weapon to his back and made his way out for the stables.

--

“Can we talk for a second, Link?”

Their newest addition to their party at least asked nicely. The hero paused his inspection of Epona’s hooves to look up at Lana, inviting her to continue on with her questions. Though she might have been allied with them for the last few months, Lana still remained an enigma to him: he wasn’t sure if she was hiding more than she let on since their first encounter, and more so with how much she knew about Cia. 

“I-I can see you’re really busy,” she stammered, already falling over her words. “But I just wanted to ask you something personal, if that’s alright?” 

It took every ounce of restraint to repress the urge to roll his eyes. Lana was a cute girl, sure, but Link knew where this conversation would eventually lead up to. There was no time to play these kinds of games with allies who had more than just a friendly interest in him, and even less with the sun slowly setting and sky turning into orange. 

But the company was nice, the presence of another person filling the space in the otherwise empty stable. Link turned back to his work and gave her one stiff nod. 

Lana relaxed almost immediately and smiled sheepishly. “I’ve noticed that you leave the castle grounds every chance you get whenever you’re granted the time,” she said quietly, planting herself on a wooden box near the other side of Epona to keep Link’s attention. “May I ask where you go?”

He didn't look at her as he shuffled from one of Epona’s legs to the next. His hand moved up where she can see, fingers and thumb pressed together. They move from the corner of his mouth to swipe over and touch his cheek. Home.

Her smile faltered. Lana said nothing as she wiggled in her seat and grew visibly uncomfortable with his answer. Her feet kicked at the hay around the box. Some part of Link didn’t like this conversation at all, but he steered his thoughts into focus, now rummaging through his pack to make sure he had everything he needed —

“I know you don’t go home, Link.”

He snapped his head up to look at her. Yeah, now he really didn’t like the direction this was going. He frowned when her eyes met his. 

“I know the village you hail from is in the west, but you head northeast. Please, be honest: where do you go?”

Was she stalking him? That was enough. Link scoffed quietly and pushed himself off the stable floor with the pack in hand, haphazardly throwing it over Epona’s saddle. He wanted this conversation to be over with whether he was prepared or not for whatever mission he was being set on. As he stood, Lana stood with him and stepped closer.

“W-Wait! I don’t know where you go, but I just want you to be careful, Link! The last time you returned, you were sick for nearly a week!” The sorceress said in anguish. He ignored her in favor of looking for the reins for his horse. “I can sense a change in you every time you come back, and I’m not sure if—” she stopped herself when Link snaps to look at her with narrowed eyes. She steadied herself with a hand on Epona’s mane, fingers delicately brushing through her white mane. “I’m not sure if it’s dangerous yet. Cia is coming closer with each day, and I— I can’t lose yo—”

“There you are, captain!” 

Lana backed off, retreating to her corner as Link both relaxed and tensed with his general now in the room. Their conversation was now at an official end with Impa wandering into the stables. He gave her a salute in greeting. She threw an arm over his shoulder and turned him away from Lana’s direction. At least they still held a common distrust over the sorceress.

“I apologize for this short-notice, but I need you to head into Faron Woods. Reports of more monsters have been flooding my desk, and some are trickling in with rumors of a sprouting Manhandla deep in the forest.” 

Link blinked up at her with an incredulous expression and suddenly noticed the lack of her own weapon on her person. Impa understood what questions he had written across his face and nodded affirmatively. “Yes, captain, you will lead a small brigade by yourself. It’s not your first mission alone, but I trust that you can command a group on a mission such as this.” She patted his arm and released him, moving to pass the reins on Epona to him. 

He wasn’t sure whether he liked the idea of being left to command a group of men yet without her guidance. On the other hand, it was nice to know that the Sheikah had seen enough growth in his skills to trust him with another mission. Soon enough, maybe, he would be the one to take charge and lead their men to victory. Without a second thought, Link accepted the reins and pulled Epona along out of the stables, sparing Lana one last sideways glance. Resigned in her corner, she gave him a small wave of goodbye.

Once outside in the glow of twilight, he climbed into his saddle. Some of his men — two soldiers and one fellow captain — were waiting for the order. Their general stood by Link’s side and saluted them off. “May the goddess Hylia smile on you all. And Link,” she said, placing a hand on his forearm, “bring my men home safely.”

The hero nodded to her with a lopsided smile and snapped the horse’s reins. With a loud neigh, Epona led them off into the settling dusk in the direction of Faron Woods.

[littlelouishiccups]

I’ve seen a lot of people making end-of-the-year fic posts. I don’t typically post more than one fic per year (2019 was the exception) so I wanted to do an end-of-the-decade post instead.

In a way, writing fanfiction has changed my life. I’ve explored and discovered so much of myself through writing, and I wouldn’t have kept going without the support from so many of you. It still blows my mind how much support I’ve received for my writing from this fandom, especially for Loving You Is Free and Like Candy In My Veins. I want to thank anyone who has ever commented on, kudo’d, shared, or messaged me about any of my fics. Your support has inspired me, motivated me, and given me the confidence to continue writing.

I also want to give a very special shout out to my beta and one of my best friends, Chelsea (who does not have an active tumblr anymore, but who is still larry-ing always and lurking on my blog occasionally). Chelsea has been with me from the very first fic I ever posted 6 years ago and continues to indulge my antics every day. Chelsea, thank you for being the best cheerleader out there. None of my fics would be the same without you.

Anyway! I’ve linked all of my fics from the past decade under the cut for anyone interested. Thank you so much again and I hope everyone has the loveliest New Year.

Loving You is Free (series)

95k

Louis is a workaholic record label CEO who hasn't been on a date in nearly a year. Niall and Liam make an account for him on a sugar dating website as a joke. And then Louis meets Harry.

A Thousand Miles From Comfort

75k

In which Louis is a closeted gay actor and a recovering addict with a troubled past. Harry is the personal trainer who helps him get his life back in shape.

Tied to Fate

52k

After his estranged father’s death, Harry inherits a castle in England that has belonged to his family for generations and he knows nothing about. When he breaks up with his boyfriend, Harry decides England is the perfect place for a small vacation. He isn’t prepared to meet Louis Tomlinson, a ghost who once lived in the castle and has haunted it for over five hundred years. He’s even more unprepared to fall in love with him.

Like Candy In My Veins

32k

Basically the A/B/O, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, Christmas AU that nobody asked for.

We Will Find A Way Through The Dark

23k

Sometimes Harry wonders what life would be like if they hadn’t signed on with Syco after the X-Factor, if they hadn’t agreed to Modest’s terms so freely, if the media wasn’t so completely fucked up. Really, he just wonders what life would be like if the world wasn’t so damn complicated. Would he still have the boys? Would he be able to walk down the street holding Louis’ hand? Would they still be happily together? Or would things be just as difficult as they are now?

Take Our Bodies Higher (soon to be a series)

21k

Harry wasn’t often caught off guard at his job anymore. He called different men Sir, Master, or Daddy for work almost every week, but he’d never been told he was a good boy in a voice quite like that.

In which Harry is a phone sex operator and Louis dials a wrong number.

Building Castles Out of Dirt

14k

In which Louis has just been let out of prison, only to find that his best friend has buried the money he owes someone at a construction site. Now there's a school built on top of it. Louis lands a job as a substitute teacher at the school, where he meets Harry and accidentally falls in love.

Shine

8k

Harry’s had a crush on Louis since the moment she realized she liked girls.

We Are Loud Like Love

2k

Harry and Louis celebrate the AIMH tweet hitting one million retweets

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 127: Are You My Dad?

“This might be serious.”

Those of y’all that check out my episode rankings at the end of every post know that my favorite “normal” episode of Steven Universe (so not Steven and the Stevens or Hit the Diamond, which are in their own category of perfect character studies) isn’t Lion 3 or Alone Together or Jailbreak or The Answer or Mr. Greg or Mindful Education. And, spoiler alert, it won’t be Jungle Moon or A Single Pale Rose or Reunited or Change Your Mind. It’s Mirror Gem. 

So it’s not a shocker that I’m drawn to another episode that’s the beginning of a two-parter closing out the first half of a fifty-odd episode chunk, which starts out goofy but grows increasingly ominous and ends in a confrontation with a new blue Gem. In terms of tone, Are You My Dad? is an incredible exercise in tension, albeit one that benefits from two prior episodes’ cliffhangers in a way Mirror Gem manages without (but to be fair, Mirror Gem arrives when we still don’t know there are other Gems, which gives its mystery a major advantage).

The silly beginning here is strengthened by the return of all three original Crystal Gems, who haven’t been in a room together since Rocknaldo. They’re increasingly out of focus as we get into more Steven-centric storytelling, and I’ve heard this lobbed as a criticism of latter-day Steven Universe; while I agree that these characters are terrific and am always down to see more of them, I can appreciate that their big moment is Act II (Seasons 2/3), and Steven’s is Act III (Seasons 4/5). If Act I is about creating Steven’s universe, and Act II is about developing Steven’s family, it’s because Act III, which the other two have been building towards this whole time, is about Steven.

Episodes like Storm in the Room and Lion 4 fundamentally don’t work with the Crystal Gems around, and our last two episodes place Steven among Beach City citizens to prime us for a finale about Beach City paying for Steven’s past. So I get why we haven’t seen the trio as a whole for a while. But I sure am glad to see them again.

Amethyst’s offer of beans and suggestion to barter them for donuts is great, but come on, nothing beats Garnet and Pearl’s sand castle. I love glimpses into the Crystal Gems’ leisure time independent of Steven (he’s around, but clearly wasn’t involved with the construction): because the Gems are so often characterized in relation to Steven and/or in big personal ways, it’s a pleasant change of pace to just see them reading the paper in Watermelon Steven or assembling furniture in Shirt Club. Doug Out and The Good Lars are celebrations of the mundane tainted by the supernatural in their last moments, so it’s perfect to ease us into this new story with more slice-of-life lazing.

Still, this beach day is a backdrop for Steven wondering where his mail is (in the first of many callbacks, we get his Mr. Postman song from all the way back in Cheeseburger Backpack). On its own this might not be a big deal, but we know that Onion and Sadie were being stalked by new Gems and that Lars didn’t show up at the potluck (which, for now, we can lump in with other disappearances), so even though Steven doesn’t know anything sinister is afoot, Jamie’s absence sets off warning bells for us. 

The scenes that follow build dread with masterful efficiency. First we get an uncharacteristically worried Sour Cream, which stands out even more than normal because we just saw him behaving as usual in The Good Lars. His concern is tempered by fun visuals: our MISSING poster is a repurposed WANTED poster, and we get a neat flashback aesthetic as Onion’s haunts are seen as if through an old-school View-Master (calling back to Onion Gang, Arcade Mania, and Onion Friend). While the audience knows new Gems are to blame, Steven is able to write this off as another weird Onion thing, and is more disappointed than concerned when he hears the Big Donut is closed.

Even now, Steven thinks things are probably fine, assuming Lars and Sadie are blowing off work to watch scary movies (calling back to Horror Club and The New Lars). It’s here where we’re introduced to the most clever element of this first act: Barb Miller. She’s connected to Sadie, so she can reveal that her daughter never came home after the potluck, but is also connected to Jamie, who she sent out that morning with Steven’s package. And she’s overprotective enough that she doesn’t make rationalizations like Sour Cream and Steven did for Onion (although she does reference Island Adventure, finally acknowledging how weird it is that three kids went missing for days and nobody seemed to care). In one fell stroke, Steven realizes that this is an alarming pattern, and starts looking for answers at last.

But he still hasn’t caught up to us. Sure, he knows his friends are missing, but he hasn’t seen the looming shadows from the end of Doug Out and The Good Lars, so when he comes across Aquamarine he has no reason to suspect her of kidnapping. A lesser show might build suspense making its characters too thick to put obvious hints together, but Steven Universe makes it clear that none of these threads are obvious to Steven. A more cynical version of the character might deduce earlier that this new Gem is bad news, but despite everything he’s been through in Season 4 he’s still empathetic to his core. After all, the pivotal event of this season was his own dad’s disappearance, so he’s primed to help a kid in a similar situation.

But finally, after knowing more than Steven from the beginning of the episode, Aquamarine asks the titular question and brings us back into the unknown with him. “Are you my dad?” is a brilliantly weird question: of course it’s odd for anyone to ask this of Steven when the answer is so self-evident, but it’s even odder for a Gem to do so. As Steven later tells Connie when she suggests the stranger might be a hybrid, this is a full Gem, and Gems don’t have dads.

Steven’s council of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Connie shows that his instinct isn’t to go it alone, lending weight to his solo sacrifice at the end of this two-parter. But for now, it offers a moment of respite by reveling in the artistic differences of these characters; on the one hand, it makes little sense for Steven to not just draw Aquamarine himself, considering he’s the one who saw her and we know he likes drawing from Shirt Club and Open Book and Barn Mates, but on the other hand, this scene is a delight. Connie draws a manga-influenced figure using an amateur ball and plane method, Amethyst goes abstract, Pearl undersells her dramatic flourish, and Garnet just draws herself; I actually think Pearl’s is closest, but we go with Connie’s and set off.

This is the second time since Lion 4 where we’ve explored the potential for other half-humans like Steven, and in my first viewing of Are You My Dad I saw it as foreshadowing for fellow hybrid. The trend never really continued, and while it seems like a red herring in retrospect, the close proximity of two stories about Steven maybe not being alone shows just how alone he really is. There’s nobody else like Steven, and while this makes him special, it adds to his burden as a bridge between worlds, a burden that’s partially thrust upon him and partially created by his own sense of outsized responsibility. 

Connie lightens the mood as they search by inventing exciting new scenarios to explain this new Gem, contrasting her further with Pearl. Connie’s art is cutesy while Pearl’s is dramatic, and where Connie sees hope for a new friend, Pearl is the only member of the team who advocates preparing for a fight. We don’t go very far down the “optimism is wrong and cynicism is right” road, because that isn’t at all what this show is about, but I love that youthful innocence from both Steven and Connie isn’t championed as an absolute positive in this story.

The light mood of two friends hoping for the best leads to Steven making a game of looking through Onion’s woods, and his facetious search of an empty log ends up getting him trapped. Again, this show isn’t here to build suspense by dumbing down the characters: Steven needs to be out of commission for Connie’s kidnapping to work the way it does, but getting stuck comes from realistic playing around rather than stupidity or ineptitude. And it continues the thread of others getting punished for Steven’s perceived mistakes, which of course adds to his guilt complex (and is furthered by Connie getting kidnapped because Steven shouted her name). These are small moments of getting us from Point A to Point B, but it’s so important that this crew pays attention to such details for the story and themes to flow smoothly.

Aquamarine’s questioning becomes even more confusing when she corrects Connie, saying she’s not looking for “your dad” but “my dad.” Connie’s condescending Tarzan speak is a bit out of character, but it at least makes sense that she wants to simplify her language for someone who doesn’t seem to understand the meanings of words. Aquamarine’s hidden nastiness emerges, with a wicked snicker at Connie’s “Me Connie” routine before she calls for Topaz.

While I prefer Mirror Gem to Are You My Dad? in most regards, the reveal of Topaz takes the cake in the horror department. She’s announced by thundering footsteps that clear birds from the surrounding trees, and emerges first as a shadow before we see our missing friends trapped inside her body. None of the captives’ mouths are free except Onion’s, and he's nonverbal, so their struggles are joined by muffled and incoherent screams while their captor lurks in silence. The soundtrack lurches into unnerving strings as Connie panics at the sight, substitutes more typical digital music as a moment as Topaz splits up, and returns to even tenser strings as Connie is viscerally absorbed into the giant Gem. As with the Ruby Squad’s giant fusion, it’s a brutally practical application of something the Crystal Gems have made beautiful, and Steven is as helpless as Connie to stop it.

A key element of Steven’s martyr complex is that his sense of ownership over everything bad that happens around him is unwarranted, and this sequence is a perfect example. Yes, he’s stuck in a log when Connie is taken, allowing him to blame himself for the kidnapping, but once he’s free he doesn’t stand a chance against Aquamarine’s magic wand. In the best-case scenario, where he and Connie manage to fuse and fight off Topaz, Stevonnie would still lose: as we see in I Am My Mom, even four Crystal Gems working together are beaten with ease by the wand’s ridiculous power. If anything, getting stuck in a log was the only reason Steven was able to regroup and fight back later in the first place. But in the moment, it seems like he made an avoidable mistake that cost Connie her freedom, which is certainly on his mind when he makes his sacrifice.

Aquamarine follows the Holly Blue Agate mold of brief but memorable villains, and while both are petty monsters, Holly Blue Agate’s Professor Umbridge has nothing on Aquamarine’s Eric Cartman. It’s one thing to let middle management power go to your head, but Aquamarine is cruel for the simple joy of being cruel, an attitude captured magnificently by Della Saba’s refined British accent. She taunts Topaz as readily as her enemies, and unlike the fiercely loyal Homeworld villains we’ve seen before, she sees her duty as a waste of time that she begrudgingly fulfills because she’s the best. Like Kevin, this is a troll who’s just mean to her core, but she unfortunately has a lot more power than your everyday toxic douche. 

As is standard for two-parters by now, we end with a cliffhanger, this time evoking Steven’s Dream (another first-parter that ends with a new blue Gem). A loved one has been taken, Steven blames himself because he put this person in harm’s way and couldn’t stop it, so now it’s time for a rescue mission. An unprecedented streak of consecutive serialized episodes already began with Doug Out, but now we get a proper two-parter, then a four-parter, then a six-parter, then another two-parter all in a row. It’s a special time in the series, highlighted by Earth plots and Homeworld plots colliding in ways that backdrop Steven’s role as a child of two worlds, and Are You My Dad excellently escalates the plot.

In closing, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this is the final episode from the amazing Raven Molisee. Other veterans like Joe Johnston and Kat Morris ended their roles as lead-credit writer/storyboarders to fulfill other roles for the show, but this is it for Molisee’s tenure as an active member of the Crewniverse. Her work speaks for itself: she helped introduce Lapis in Mirror Gem, Peridot in Warp Tour, Jasper in The Return, Yellow Diamond in Message Received, and now Aquamarine and Topaz in Are You My Dad?. She helped bring to life the comedy of Kindergarten Kid and The New Crystal Gems, the tragedy of Rose’s Scabbard and Monster Reunion, the horror of Frybo and Keeping It Together, the wonder of An Indirect Kiss, the catharsis of Earthlings, and so much more. We were lucky to have her, and I really hope she didn’t leave because she was abducted by aliens.

Future Vision!

Steven is down to watch a movie about an orphaned Gem whose parent figure left for Beach City and never came home. So were the fans, apparently.

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

The ages of Lars and Sadie were nebulous at first, but it’s more or less been established that they’re teens of sorts by now, which makes Barb’s declaration that Sadie’s an adult confusing in a way that I find surprisingly annoying. It’s really not a big deal, but it bothers me way more than your average nitpick.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It’s not unheard of for first-parters to make my greatest hits list: Mirror Gem is certainly one of them, and we’ve also got The Return and Steven’s Dream. But it’s hard to put an episode without a proper ending up with the best, and despite its wonderful tone, meeting Aquamarine lacks the conclusive impact of meeting Lapis, we don’t get a huge moment of Steven summoning his shield and protecting his team, and Aquamarine isn’t a Big Deal like Blue Diamond. I still love Are You My Dad a lot, but this is a hard list to crack and it does feel like half an episode when viewed alone.

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

When It Rains

The Good Lars

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Doug Out

Are You My Dad?

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

(It took some serious sleuthing, because the amazing Are You My Mother parody image is unsourced on Google Images and comes from a TeeSpring shirt that is no longer available, but I tracked down the artist as Zaccrim.)